


Womb with a View

by MightyLauren



Series: Shadows on the Horizon [2]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Childbirth, F/M, Marriage, Parenthood, Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 06:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 72,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12382941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MightyLauren/pseuds/MightyLauren
Summary: Now that the shadows cast by Dervahl have passed, Aloy and Erend set out to keep their promise by settling down in Meridian to get ready for the birth of their child.Prepare for all the fluff as we follow our favorite couple as they navigate pregnancy, child birth, and the first few months with baby.





	1. Bump

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to [After the Shadows Pass](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10543552) and is pure pregnancy fluff and lovey doveyness. 
> 
> This will have NO overarching Action/Adventure plot like AtSP. I'm saving that for another story. ;-)
> 
> Special thanks to [CranialGames](https://archiveofourown.org/users/superyuui/pseuds/cranialgames) without whom this wouldn't be happening. More details on that in the post first chapter notes.

Somehow, Aloy hadn’t realized her stomach had grown as much as it had. They'd been living back in Meridian for a couple months now, and it wasn’t until a merchant in the market asked “how far along” she was that Aloy realized she was officially sporting a noticeable baby bump.

“Oh, um…” Aloy had felt suddenly self-conscious, a feeling she wasn’t at all use to, fumbling the vegetables she had been stowing in a shopping bag. “Three and a half months.”

It was a female merchant, who smiled kindly as she took the shards for payment. “Congrats,” she said. “You look radiant.”

Aloy thanked her, awkwardly, and then evacuated the market. She kept her eyes on the ground, tucking some of her red hair back behind an ear as she went. That had been the first time anyone had recognized she was pregnant just by looking at her.

It was with relief that Aloy reached the front door to her apartment, pushing it open and leaving behind the bustling streets of the city. As she closed the door behind her, she leaned up against it, one hand on her belly and the other clutching the shopping bags from her market trip.

She wasn’t sure why the merchant noticing her baby belly had affected her like this. It wasn’t like she had ever particularly cared about her appearance, or how others perceived her. Yet as she looked down, realizing how far over the waist band of her skirt her tummy had crept, she felt self-conscious all over again. Briefly, she attempted to suck her gut in, but apparently that worked for fat but not a baby.

Realizing she was being silly, Aloy shook these thoughts from her head, and lifted her back off of the door. She took the things she had purchased from Erend’s shopping list into the kitchen, putting them away for when he returned home in a couple hours from his Vanguard duties.

Idly, Aloy wondered if Erend had noticed she was showing. He certainly hadn’t said anything about it, but, as he paid more attention to her tummy than even she did, he must have noticed. Closing the final cabinet, she left the kitchen and went to flop down on their couch.

She wiggled to get comfortable, dragging one of the decorative pillows to go behind her neck as she lounged the length of the cushions. She was probably going to have to start thinking about new clothing to accommodate for the baby, she realized. the idea of shopping for such clothing wasn't appealing to her, or shopping for any clothing in general.

  
A yawn overtook her, she thought it couldn't hurt to close her eyes for a little while, she'd already done what she meant to do that day anyway. She squished the pillow a bit, turning on her side so that her shoulders pressed against the cushioned back of the sofa.

-

Aloy awoke when she heard the door close as Erend came in. She could tell he was trying to be quiet, as he trod in his armored boots to hang up his weapon. When he turned to see she was rubbing her eyes, he let out an apologetic sigh.

“Sorry I woke you,” he said, coming over to the sofa.

Aloy scooted her hips over so that he could sit sideways on the edge of the cushion, alongside where she was lying.

“It's okay, you know if I nap too long I won't sleep when we go to bed,” she said, reaching up and brushing a hand down his cheek and into the hair along the edge of his jaw.

Erend smiled at the touch. He tugged off his gloves, tossing them onto the table so that he could touch her with bare hands. One came down to her pregnant belly, the other to the side of her face as he hunched down to give her a short but very tender kiss on her lips.

“And then we both don't sleep,” he said, looking down on her with such fondness Aloy felt like her heart was overflowing with it. His hand was warm even through the brown fabric tunic that lie between it and her stomach.

“Lady in the market asked how far along I was today,” she said, looking down to where his hand rested. “I didn't know it was noticeable.”

“Well, I noticed,” Erend said, moving his hand gently, now looking himself.

“I figured you had,” Aloy said. “Even if you didn't mention it.”

Erend laughed. “I learned a long time ago you never tell a woman you've noticed she's gotten bigger,” he said. “Even if you mean it in a good way. Once, when Ersa was trying to build muscle, I told her she looked like she was getting bigger, and before she realized I meant her muscles, she'd broken my nose.”

Aloy was laughing now, too. “I promise I won't break your nose,” she said. “I don't know why, but when she asked and I realized you could SEE I was pregnant, I felt self-conscious.”

Her face had fallen slightly, her eyes downcast. Erend was having none of this however, he nudged her chin back up so that she was looking at him.

“Aloy, you are no less beautiful with this belly than you were the day I met you,” he said. “You will always be the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Your belly getting bigger is a good thing, it means our baby is healthy and growing. In fact, I look forward to watching it get bigger over the next months.”

Aloy was smiling broadly now, as he said the right things as he somehow always did. “Tell you what, from now on, you can just say when you notice I've grown,” she said. “And I promise I'll take it as a good thing.”

“That's the spirit,” he replied, leaning in to kiss her again. “I'm going to go upstairs and ditch this wretched armor, and then get started on dinner. You should just keep relaxing right here.”

Erend was so good to her. This thought bounced around her mind, listening to the stairs creaked under his steps as he ascended them. When she had found out, in the middle of chaos in the Motherland, that she was pregnant she had been scared. She knew already how much he loved her, and he had already been treating her so very well.

That had been nothing compared to the man she had returned home to Meridian with. He had stepped up in ways she had never even known she would need him to. No longer was Aloy scared to have a child. In fact, the further along she got, the more excited she became.

Imagining Erend with a tiny baby in his arms, treating their child with the same care he treated her, that wasn't a stretch of imagination in the least anymore. She couldn't wait to see it with her own eyes.

Aloy sat up on the couch now, placing the pillow behind her back where the arm met with the rest of the sofa. Erend came back down the stairs much more quietly than when he had gone up. He had shed even his boots, wearing only his trousers and the yellow striped shirt that he wore under his armor. He smiled over at her as he went into the kitchen and proceeded to prepare dinner.

“Do you need any help?” she asked.

“You're doing everything I need you to do right there by lighting up the room,” he said over his shoulder.

So very good to her. She said the only thing she could think to say to something so sweet. “I love you.” She tucked her legs under her, turning her body to watch him as he worked in the kitchen.

“I love you too, Moonflower,” he replied, another smile granted to her over his shoulder as he got the stove lit.

Aloy sank back into the couch, as Erend began to whistle the song he always whistled when he cooked. That and the sizzle of the pan were sounds that meant safety and comfort to her. She lounged in the feeling, knowing how lucky they were, appreciating the life they now had.

“Foods almost done,” Erend called after a while.

Rising from the cushions, Aloy joined him in the kitchen now, pulling plates from the cabinets for him. Then while he was serving food onto them, she retrieved utensils and glasses before going to the dining table to set it.

This was a familiar routine now, she passed him on her way back to the kitchen to get a jug of water, his hands full with the food. She carried it back as he set down the plates, one on either side of the table. Aloy slid her arm along his side, placing the jug on the table as she leaned against his back.

He caught her hand as it returned, entwining his fingers with hers and bringing their arms across his chest. They held there for a moment, with her hugging him from behind, her face pressed into the fabric of his shirt near his shoulder blade.

When she released him, he pulled out her chair for her to sit before taking his seat across from her. Now that the food was in front of her, Aloy was suddenly starving. She seized a fork and speared a pepper on it followed by a piece of the turkey he had stir fried with the vegetables.

Erend poured them both glasses of water as she began to eat, looking satisfied with her reaction to the food. Then he began eating himself.

“I've got Anehita tomorrow,” Aloy said, after a while, her plate now half cleared.

“Oh right,” Erend returned. “Want me to duck out of work and join you?”

Aloy swallowed the bite that was in her mouth, shaking her head. “No need, you know these check ups are getting repetitive,” she answered, picking up a cloth napkin to wipe her mouth.

He nodded thoughtfully, taking a pile of food on his plate and scooping it into his mouth. They ate in silence for a while, then. “Avad hasn't given up on the baby shower idea,” Erend said, rising to take his empty dish to the kitchen. “Do you want more?” This question was posed as he pointed down to her now clear plate.

“No,” Aloy said. “I mean yes, I want more. No, I don't want a baby shower!”

Erend laughed, snagging her plate and going to the kitchen. “Would it really be so bad?” he asked as he scooped a serving nearly as big as her first onto her plate.

“Probably,” she said, crossing her arms. “Just remember the party he threw after your rescue and then imagine all those people at our baby shower.”

Plopping the plate back in front of her, Erend resumed his seat. “You're afraid he'll go too big,” he said, nodding. “That's a valid concern.”

Aloy dug into her food, aware of his eyes on her. “Don't judge me,” she begged, her mouth partially full of food. She swallowed this hastily. “I swear this baby has turned me into a glutton.”

“No, just eating for two,” Erend replied fondly.

He sat with her while she ate, and then they did the dishes together as they always did, before retiring upstairs to their bedroom. Erend went into the washroom as Aloy stripped off her outer layers, until she was down to her soft fabric leggings and tapered brown tunic.

When he returned he was shirtless, and wearing light fabric sleep pants. His usual night time garb. He pulled back the cover on her side of the bed, and she slid in. Then he came around the bed and joined her, pulling her against him as she draped the covers over his chest.

He tucked her under his arm as he always did, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. She felt his hand move down her back beneath the covers, then slide over her side to rest on the side of the small, distinct baby bump that was slightly sandwiched between them.

“When I get bigger we won't be able to lay like this,” Aloy said, realizing.

“We’ll lay whatever way is most comfortable for you,” Erend murmured, already sounding sleepy.

“Thank you for being so great with all of this,” she said, craning her neck up to plant a kiss on his cheek.

“That's my job,” he said. “Keep you safe, comfortable, and happy.”

“High marks in all three categories tonight,” Aloy said, settling back in against his shoulder, the sound of his heart beating in her ear. His hand moved gently against her belly, a slow circular motion that made her feel warm.

She tried to imagine herself with a big belly. Aloy had seen pregnant women before, both from afar growing up around the Motherland, and up close from in and around the city. Here in Meridian they wore draped silk maternity dresses that clung to their melon sized bellies. She'd found herself staring at a woman passing on the street the other day, in a red silk number that showed off her pregnant stomach beneath clinging layers that flowed as she walked. Aloy couldn't exactly imagine herself in such a frock, but she thought of how beautiful the woman had looked. She could try…

Aloy heard a soft snore above her that let her know Erend had drifted off to sleep. She smiled against his chest, closing her eyes to join him.

—————-

Erend had already left for work when Aloy awoke the following morning, she vaguely remembered him kissing her goodbye before he went. He had left a breakfast of bread, fruit, and juice out ready for her, which she ate half of then took the fruit to go, eating it as she walked through the morning streets of Meridian.

Anehita officially worked for the city hospital now, so that was where Aloy was heading, taking heathy bites of an apple as she went. Here and there people would greet her, she was still as well known as ever around the city, perhaps even more so now then after she'd defeated Hades.

Anehita was waiting for her in the reception area of the hospital, and ushered her through without her needing to wait with what appeared to be a very sick man in the waiting room. Aloy was led up a flight of stairs, and down a hall to what was Anehita’s main check up room

Once she closed the door, Anehita turned to properly look at her friend. Her eyes hung on the baby bump, smiling. “Well, look at you,” she said, coming forward and placing a hand in the now visible baby bump.

Aloy let out a nervous laugh, still unsure how to feel about the new visibility of her tummy. “Erend is thrilled, as you can imagine,” Aloy said, looking down.

“As am I,” Anehita said, looking up. “Now why don't you get this leather stuff off so I can properly see you, and hop up on the table. I will be right back.” She disappeared back through the door, closing it behind her

This was not Aloy’s first pregnancy check up at the hospital, she was now used to visiting Anehita here. So she didn't hesitate to shed the leather pieces of her Nora clothing, sliding herself onto the edge of the check up table once she was down to her brown fabric leggings and shirt. She let her legs swing a bit in the open air as she waited, but it wasn't long before her friend and midwife returned.

Anehita was setting up some things on a side table, tools Aloy didn't even know or understand the uses for, but she watched this nonetheless. As she did this she began asking Aloy the usual questions.

“How have you been feeling? Less nausea?” she asked.

“Actually, yes, now that you mention it,” Aloy answered, realizing how long it had been since she'd had to chew any ginger or had thrown up.

“You're officially in your second trimester,” Anehita said, finally turning to look at Aloy atop the table. She paused, tilting her head and examining with her eyes.

“What is it?” Aloy asked, confused as it didn't appear she was looking to her belly.

“Your belly isn't the only thing growing,” Anehita said, raising her eyebrows. “Don't tell me you haven't noticed.”

Aloy knew then what she meant. She looked down at her breasts which were filling out the brown tunic just a tad bit better than they used to. “I was sort of hoping I had imagined that,” she said, bringing her eyes back up.

“May I?” Anehita asked, her hands coming forward. Aloy nodded though unsure what exactly to expect as the midwife gently felt first her right and then her left breast. “This is normal of course, your breasts will swell more between now and when the baby is born. It is your milk coming in.”

“Oh!” Aloy had been reading material that Anehita had given her on pregnancy and babies, she knew of course the baby would feed from her breasts when the time came, but somehow it hadn't occurred to her they would get bigger months beforehand.

Anehita had moved on from this, sliding up the brown shirt to touch her bump with bare hands. She felt around the sides and asked if any of her touches caused any discomfort. Then she reached for a hearing device and listened to Aloy’s heartbeat.

“How have you been sleeping?” Anehita asked. “Any trouble getting comfortable enough to rest?”

“Not so far,” Aloy answered. “Not sleeping anyway, if I stay on my feet too long I start to feel it in my lower back. I'm sure that only gets worse.”

“Carrying around extra weight will do that, yes,” Anehita said. “Open up.”

Aloy opened her mouth and allowed a small thermometer to be slid beneath her tongue to check her temperature. The first time they'd done one of these check ups Aloy had hated every moment of it, hated being poked and prodded and examined. But now that she had a few under her belt, and was used to having Anehita doing these things, Aloy was able to take it all in stride.

Later, as they wrapped up the appointment, Aloy stepping back into her skirt, and tugging back on her leather tunic, which she realized was actually a bit tight across her breasts now, Aloy decided to ask Anehita for a favor.

“I think I'm going to need new clothes soon,” Aloy said, tying the side laces is the armored tunic.

“Praise the sun, because if I see you in this Nora stuff much longer I'm going to cry,” Anehita said. “No offense but I see you in that and I fear at the drop of some hat you're going to charge off into battle.”

Aloy couldn't help but laugh. “I have some come carja silks that should accommodate me for a while, but beyond that I'm going to need clothing designed for a pregnant body,” she said, her hand had come down to her belly again, thinking about how big it would be in another month or so. “I know you're already doing so much for me but…”

“I will take you shopping,” Anehita said, her hands coming down on her pregnant friend’s shoulders. “We will let you grow a little bit more, and in another month we will go shopping.”

“Thank you, you know I hate clothing shopping,” Aloy said, looking around to ensure she wasn't leaving anything behind.

It was Anehita’s turn to laugh. “Yes, yes I remember dress shopping for that party at Avad’s way back when I first got to Meridian,” she said, opening the door for Aloy and then following her friend through it before closing it again. “But you ended up with a simply beautiful dress.”

Aloy blushed as they walked through the hallway, and at first she wasn't sure why, then she remembered.

“Annie, if it wasn't for that dress there might not be a baby,” Aloy joked. The night she had worn that dress to attend the party had been the night she and Erend had first consummated their relationship.

“That's what happens when you shop with me,” Anehita joked back, giving her friend a small hug as they reached reception again, before bidding Aloy farewell and returning to the depths of the hospital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I thought I would wait longer before I started publishing this but.... I have poor self control and this first chapter has been written for AGES.
> 
> As mentioned in the pre-story note, this story wouldn't be coming about so quickly if it wasn't for [CranialGames](https://archiveofourown.org/users/superyuui/pseuds/cranialgames) who endured me private messaging her random scenes of Aloy pregnant in Meridian for about the last month. And helped feed me ideas. And just overall was very supportive of me writing this cheesy ass fic to follow up AtSP.
> 
> If you've got any pregnancy/childbirth/baby related things you would love to see with an HZD spin now is the time to drop them in the comments. 
> 
> I've got some fun things already written and others outlined out. I would not expect as rapid of an update time as I had with AtSP and it will NOT be as long. 
> 
> If I make it to a third one that's the one that would return to being novel length and have the huge plot. I might already had a few thoughts on a third story for the series. Maybe. 
> 
> Anyway hopefully I'm not wrong and y'all wanna read this fluff. Because I definitely have been enjoying writing it and wanna write more. XD


	2. Massage

“C’mon man, I won’t tell anyone,” Erend insisted.

He and Brant were standing in the Vanguard’s equipment storage room re-organizing some of the training and sparring weapons. It was a tall curved room, with windows cut in the stone high up, but only sheer rock walls down where they stood.

“Why don’t you just practice on Aloy?” Brant asked, examining arrows to determine if they were still usable.

“Look, I’m afraid of hurting her,” Erend said, looking down at his own hands for a moment. “I’m trying to make her back feel better, not worse.”

“How about a pillow, you could practice massage on a pillow,” Brant suggested, watching Erend wrestle with a barrel of wooden weapons that had nearly fallen over when he added one.

“A pillow can’t tell me if I’m hurting it,” Erend said flatly, finally righting the barrel. “Look, I’ve read all about it, I’m just trying to gauge how much actual pressure to use, defeats the purpose if her back hurts more when I’m done.”

Erend had known all along this was a hard sell, but he couldn’t imagine anyone else he trusted enough to ask this unusual favor of. He tried to imagine asking Marad and the thought gave him the willies.

“How about this?” Brant said. “I’ll let you practice on Anehita.”

“Nice of you to offer your girlfriend without asking her,” Erend said with a laugh. Then he pondered this idea for a moment, gazing a bit more intently than he realized at the rack of bows in the corner.

“You don’t like the idea of massaging a woman other than Aloy,” Brant said, dragging the captain back from his thoughts.

It hadn’t been a question, and he had hit the nail directly on the head. The idea of running his hands across any back other than Aloy’s wasn’t exactly tempting, but somehow it was even worse imagining doing so to another woman.

Brant let out a long sigh. “You’re not expecting me to take off my shirt are you?” he asked, as he closed the door to the space.

“Of course not,” Erend answered. “Just the armor, I’ll go over the shirt.”

“If you tell anyone I swear you won’t make it to the birth of your child,” Brant murmured, as he began unhooking the straps on his armor.

Erend perked up, lifting his back from the wall he had been leaning on. “Believe me, the only one I would tell is Aloy.”

Brant’s armored belt hit the floor as he brandished a finger at his friend. “NOT EVEN ALOY!”

“Alright, alright, I won’t even tell Aloy,” Erend said, trying not to grin at how put out Brant was becoming.

Brant proceeded to remove his leather tunic, until he was down to just his yellow striped Vanguard shirt from the waist up. Then he sat straddling one of the benches that ran along the cubby wall. Here men would change in and out of gear for training.

When Erend straddled the same bench behind him, Brant shot a look over his shoulder that said ‘too close’ without him needed to speak. The captain slid back further from his fellow Vanguard before pulling off his gloves.

“You sure about this?” Erend asked, as he slowly extended his arms out.

“No, and if you ask that again I’m changing my mind,” Brant answered.

“Okay, okay, relax,” Erend said. Though at these words the shoulders before him seemed to tense more than anything else.

Erend took a deep breath and dove right in, placing the palms of his hands on the back of his friends shoulders and wrapping his fingers around the top. Slowly he began to knead the muscles with his thumbs, trying not to think too hard about the fact it was Brant he was doing this to.

In his mind, Erend was remembering the drawing of pressure points from the literature he had been given on the subject. He moved his hands to other spots, working them down along his friends spine. The tension beneath his fingers was easing, and Brant even let out a small sound as if it was pleasurable.

He attempted to mask this with a cough, and Erend let him, not wanting to ruin what was sure to be a one time chance at this practice.

“How’s the pressure?” Erend asked.

“I think you can go a little harder,” Brant answered, turning his head slightly.

Erend tried pushing more firmly against the soft fabric of the shirt, eliciting another hard to ignore sound from Brant. “I little less,” he hissed, leaning forward away from the touch.

Dialing it back, Erend was working the lower back with his broad thumbs. “Like that?”

“Yeah…” Brant answered in a breathy voice. “That’s perfect.”

At this moment, the door to the equipment storage room swung open, and Gunnar, one of the higher level Vanguard, made a couple steps inside before halting at the sight that greeted him. Erend had frozen, his hands still on Brant’s back.

Gunnar was a stocky man, with a stout round face. His mouth fell open in surprise. “Brant, man, don’t you have a lady at home who could do that?” he asked, his eyes alight with mischief.

Brant let out an annoyed huff, rising from the bench. “How about you shove off, Gun,” he barked.

Gunnar raised both of his hands defensively, backing out of the room. Erend hadn’t moved aside from letting his hands fall away as his test subject stood up.

“And if I hear even the tiniest murmurs about this from anyone else I’m sticking you on overnight gate duty,” Brant shouted at the retreating Oseram’s back. “FOR A MONTH!”

Brant didn’t look at the captain as he strapped his armor back into place, letting out more huffing sounds of annoyance as he did so. For a few moments this and the creaking of leather as he dressed were the only sounds.

Erend rose finally from his seat, retrieving his gloves.

“Let’s just…” Brant said in a low voice. “Never speak of this again.” He was tightening the last strap to his armor, perhaps a bit more vigorously than necessary.

“You seemed to be enjoying it before Gunnar showed up,” Erend joked.

Brant spun around, jabbing a finger into Erend’s shoulder. “That doesn’t sound like never speaking of it!”

Erend couldn’t help it, he looked at his friend’s face, which was red with anger, and busted out laughing. He doubled over, gloved hands on his knees, completely overcome by mirth. For a moment, Brant just stared, his arms crossed over his chest, his frown starting to waver.

“I’m sorry, man,” Erend said, through the laughter that was bringing tears to his eyes. “First the look on HIS face, now the look on yours. You have to admit… it’s pretty funny.”

Brant was starting to crack, a grin spreading across his face. “If we’re not careful the men will think this sort or thing is how I made second in command,” he said, then he was laughing too.

A few minutes later, as their laughter dissolved, Erend clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Well, I appreciate it, brother,” he said. “And if anyone gives us any flack we really will give them the graveyard shift.”

—————-

Aloy had meant to get more done with her day. She thought of this fact as she waited for the elevator back up from the Maizelands. She’d been feeling stir crazy and decided to go up to the Alight for what felt like the first time in a very long time.

The walk up had been okay, but by the time she had reached the bottom on her return trip Aloy was starting to feel it. Her feet were aching and her back gave a twinge as she finally stepped onto the elevator.

She held her hand on the small of her back, closing her eyes as the air flowed through the grates of the elevator car as it rose.

Aloy was four months pregnant now, and though it had only been a couple weeks since she had started showing, she felt like her belly was already significantly more than just a bump. She found she minded less and less the fact that people knew on sight that she was pregnant, even enjoying some of the warm reactions she received from people she met on the streets.

She waved to the Vanguard on duty at the Eastern bridge as she stepped from the elevator, smiling back at them as they responded in kind before turning to walk the remaining length of the bridge into Meridian. She took her time with the walk home, partly because her back and feet were still protesting and partly because it was simply a beautiful afternoon.

Winter was petering out, and with every day spring was starting to show more and more around the city. From flower boxes that were starting to bloom, to warmer afternoons under bright blue skies, the season was changing. As a result the streets were more alive than usual, flooded with citizens out taking advantage of the good weather.

Aloy hadn't realized how late in the day it had grown, until she went to cross the marketplace on her way home and caught sight of Erend at one of the stalls. There was no mistaking him from the back, his neatly shaved in mohawk and height made him easy to spot.

She felt the smile spread across her face of its own accord, as she drifted across the flow of people moving through the area to reach him. It made no real sense that she felt better the closer she got, not really possible that his mere presence sometimes seemed to ease the pain and tiredness. So that by the time her hand met with his back, her own’s discomfort was barely noticeable.

“Moonflower!” Erend greeted her with a mix of fondness and surprise, his grey eyes coming down to meet her hazel ones, a wide smile framed by the hair on his face.

“Hey, sweetie,” she greeted, rising up on her toes to plant a kiss on his cheek.

He took a moment to finish up with the merchant, tucking a hunk of meat rolled up in paper into a bag and paying the man in the stall shards for it.

Then Erend looped an arm around her waist and walked them from the market in the direction of home.

Aloy was wearing a Carja silk outfit. One of the few things she owned that still fit her enough to wear. His hand slid onto her silken hip, pulling her against his side as they walked.

“Where were you coming back from?” Erend asked, as they made the final turn onto the street their apartment resided on.

“I went for a walk up to the Alight,” Aloy answered. “Visited the Glinthawk, looked at the Spire a bit. Just needed to get out for a while. Such a beautiful day.”

“It was, wasn't it?” Erend agreed. “Spring is almost here. I hope we get another day like that on my off-duty day.”

They were at the front door to their home, and Erend slid his arm from her to open the door, holding it for her to enter before following behind. Aloy walked a few steps in before turning back to him.

“Why what did you want to do on your day off?” she asked.

Erend hung up his weapon, and placed the bag from the market on the dining room table. “I thought we would take a picnic down to that land near the windmill,” he said, as he came to her now, sliding one gloved hand onto her belly. “If it's a nice day that is. We can just eat and lay in the sun.”

“That would be lovely,” Aloy said, smiling up at him. He bent down, pressing his lips to hers, his hand sliding from her belly to her hip so that he could pull her closer.

His armor however, was in the way. She didn't have to say it, for he released her soon after this kiss.

“Time to ditch the steel,” he said, stepping from her to go to the stairs.

Aloy went to the sofa, but as she sank down onto it her back gave another one of its zings of pain. She clutched it slightly, trying to bite back the sound somewhere between a groan and a gasp that escaped her lips.

Erend held near the top of the stairs, looking down as she scooted herself further back onto the couch, leaning heavily against the decorative pillows.

“We’re going to do something about that when I come back downstairs,” he said, before disappearing into their bedroom.

Aloy had no idea what that meant. She pondered it as she got comfortable on the couch, the soft cushions and pillows easing a bit of the ache. She still had five more months until she was due, and Aloy couldn't imagine how uncomfortable she would be by the end of this was how she felt less than half way in.

The creaking of the stairs made her look around, watching as Erend descended now devoid of his armor. As handsome as he was in full Vanguard gear, Aloy simply loved when they were home and he wore only the cloth shirt and trousers.

“I want to try something,” he said, coming to sit next to her on the sofa.

“Try what exactly?” Aloy asked, still lounged against the back of the couch.

“I would like to massage your back,” Erend said simply. He was stretching out his bare hands, cracking his knuckles, flexing his thick fingers.

“Have you ever massaged someone?” she asked. Aloy had of course heard of massage, seen parlors in Meridian dedicated to it. The idea of having a stranger rub out her muscles had not sounded appealing, but having Erend do it on the other hand…

“Once,” Erend answered, for some reason choking back a laugh. “But I've read extensively on the subject.

Aloy sat up next to him, ignoring the twinge in her lower back as she did so. “You've read extensively? On massage?”

Erend laughed out loud this time, turning on the sofa to face her, reaching a hand up to tuck a piece of stray hair back behind her ear.

“Do you remember what I said the night you told me you were pregnant?” he asked, now brushing a thumb across her cheek, his eyes locked on hers. “I said I would do everything I could to keep you safe, comfortable, and happy. Well, the more the baby grows the harder that middle one is going to get so… yeah, I did some reading.”

Her cheeks felt warm, and her heart full as he kissed her. Then she let him help her turn so that he was behind her.

—————-

Erend took a deep breath, looking over the elaborate closure that ran down the back of the silk top Aloy was wearing.

“I'm going to unlace this,” he said, running his fingers down it.

Aloy nodded in acknowledgment and he set to work undoing it, until finally he opened the back of the garment, pulling the two halves of silk away to reveal her pale freckled back. He placed his palms on the skin, running them down the length of her spine. She let out a small sigh.

“I'm going to start light, and then increase the pressure,” he said, moving his hands up to her shoulders, playing his thumbs on the curve down from the base of her neck. “You have to tell me if I go to hard.”

Then he began to knead at the muscle here, in slow concentric circles with his thumbs. Her neck curved as the tension here slowly began to ease with each Pass of his fingers.

“That feels amazing,” Aloy breathed.

Erend moved his hands further apart, working across her shoulders. He could feel every knot, every tense muscle. “They say we carry all our stress in our back,” he said, increasing the pressure slightly and being rewarded with a small moan as she slumped slightly forward.

“Then this baby is stressing me out,” Aloy joked, as he worked his hands further down her back.

It was surprisingly enjoyable massaging her, Erend found himself exploring her back with his hands, tracing between the adorable freckles making sure to hit every square inch.

She let out another pleasurable sound when he reached her lower back. Everything felt like a knot here, and he spent a long while slowly uncoiling this. His hands were very warm now, from the friction of skin on skin. Aloy was practically melting at his touch, to the point that when he returned his hands to her shoulders she fell back against his chest.

Erend wound his arms around her from behind, bringing a hand down to her round baby belly, splaying his fingers across it.

“Thank you,” she said in a soft voice, leaning her head against his where it rested on her shoulder.

“Anytime, Mooonflower,” he whispered, holding her tight against him. Erend turned his face, brushing his nose against her ear and kissing her neck.

Aloy hummed, her body relaxing further against his. “There is a mild side effect of sleepiness,” she sighed.

“Perhaps next time I'll massage you before bed, but for now why don't you lay back while I make dinner.”

Erend slid from behind her, and she did just that. Turning on her side, pushing a pillow under her head, and draping her ginger hair over the round arm of the sofa.

He went to fetch the bag from the dining table, and when he turned back she was curled up in the pillows, a hand lying across her own tummy.

“Who was the other person you massaged?” she asked, not even bothering to open her eyes as she did so.

“Brant,” Erend answered, deciding on the spot to tell her. “Earlier today.”

Aloy’s eyes popped open, sparkling with amusement. “What?!”

“I had to practice on someone,” Erend said with a shrug, continuing on into the kitchen, enjoying her laugh as he went.

“That's perfect,” she said, with a yawn. “Remind me to thank him.”

Erend didn't have a chance to respond as he unrolled the meat from its packaging. Before he could she had drifted off to sleep. He checked this over his shoulder, smiling to himself, then setting to work on preparing dinner.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hand if you would like an Erend massage. 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading and a special thanks to my commenters.


	3. New Wardrobe

Aloy huffed in frustration, her usual brown undershirt she slept in pulled half on, scrunched up over her belly above her belly button. There was no calling her belly just a bump at this point.

She ran her thin fingers across it, examining it in the dim lamplight of their bedroom. Erend came back out of the washroom, already dressed for bed.

“What's wrong?” he asked, coming to stand with her at the dresser.

“It's finally happened,” she said somewhat pleadingly. “I'm too big for my sleep shirt.”

Erend looked at her fondly, his hands coming down to rest on either side of her pregnant belly, slightly rough palms pressed against her taught skin. “Baby just needed a little more space is all,” he said lightly, leaning in and kissing her.

Aloy felt better after this, smiling against his lips as he withdrew from her. He turned to the dresser, opened one of his drawers, and pulled from it one of his own shirts. It was a well worn copy of the shirts he always wore under his vanguard armor, the yellow stripes rather faded.

“Try this on,” he said, handing it to her.

Aloy wriggled out of the tight top, feeling his eyes on her as her breasts finally fell free and she tugged the wretched garment over her head and tossed it away. She then slid the soft oversized shirt on over her head.

Erend was a wide framed, heavily muscled man, and his shirts were big enough to accommodate. It fell down over her belly, the hem just reaching the top of her thighs. She was wearing small shorts that Anehita had given her to sleep in when she'd complained of being hot in the leggings she used to always wear.

The shirt felt soft and comfortable, she rolled up the sleeves loosely, letting her forearms free before looking up to him.

He was leaning on the edge of the dresser, arms crossed over his chest, eyes alight as he looked at her standing there wearing his shirt, which was loose almost everywhere but clung slightly to her belly where it was largest.

Erend’s eyes seemed drawn to this, and she couldn't help but smile as she cleared her throat to get him to look up at her. “What?” she asked in a soft voice, stepping towards him.

“You just look amazing,” he said, licking his lips as his eyes fell back to her belly, his hands coming down to touch it again.

Aloy was used to Erend’s fascination with her baby belly. She had grown to enjoy watching him as he fussed over it, his expressive face was alway glowing with love and hope. She lifted a hand and ran her fingers down the wide stripe of hair that ran down his head as he bent to kiss her round stomach.

She kept them there, twined with his mohawk as he brought his lips up to hers, leaning gently against her, his hands still firmly placed on either side of her mound of a stomach. Erend smiled against her lips as he pulled his from them.

“You can sleep in this as long as you want,” he said. “But it might be time to address the fact your wearable clothing is down to one Carja silk outfit.”

Aloy laughed, following him to the bed, sliding beneath the silk covers he had pulled back for her. “Even that doesn’t really fit,” she said. “And I’ve loosened the back laces about as far as they'll go.”

Erend slid into his side of the bed, sliding an arm behind her as he did so. Aloy huffed a bit to get into her usual spot, her round belly pressed against his side, her head resting on his shoulder.

“Now if you end up having to sleep naked, I just want to let you know I would be okay with that,” Erend said in a mischievous voice.

Aloy let out a sleepy laugh, closing her eye as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “I think I’d start a scene if I went to the market naked, though,” she said.

“I guess you have no choice then,” Erend said, slowly rubbing her belly, and failing to hold back a yawn. He drew her ever closer to him, his breathing slowing as sleep descended. It didn't take long for her to drift off as well, safely held against him.

—————-

As Aloy stepped out from the dressing room, Anehita let out a delighted gasp. They were in Madam Pavati’s dress shop, and the old seamstress had made several maternity dresses for Aloy.

She was trying on the first, and it wasn't until she stepped in front of the mirror that she understood what the fuss was about. The dress was made of layered opaque and sheer silks in hues of blue, it came down in a fairly deep V in the front, showing off her larger than normal breasts a bit more than she had anticipated.

It had an empire waist with a woven goldenrod colored belt that ran around her middle above her round belly. The dress was loose and flowing from there down, but cascaded around her belly, smooth across the largest point. The long ties from the belt fell on either side, framing her pregnant stomach, accentuating it.

“What do you think?” Anehita asked, coming to her side, also looking into the mirror. “I think you look beautiful.”

“Wow,” was all Aloy could manage.

Pavati came whisking back in, she cooed at the sight of Aloy, sending Anehita skittering away as she swooped in on her customer.

“Look at you,” she said, turning Aloy around, allowing the nearly floor length skirt to flow around her. “You look radiant. How does it feel?”

Aloy considered this, twisting at her center, seeing how it moved on her. “It's actually pretty comfortable,” she said, deciding.

“Meant to let your body move and breath,” Pavati said. “Has some room to grow with you but I also made you two a bit bigger for when you're really ready to pop.”

As the old woman said this, she playfully poked Aloy in the tummy, her long sleeves dragging the floor as she did so. Aloy didn't know how to feel about this.

“Oh, and if you feel right here near your hips, along that seam,” Pavati pointed.

Aloy slid her hands between the sheer soft folds that bunched here, finding two finished slit openings along the seam.

“It has pockets?” Aloy asked, delighted at this. They were so subtle that you wouldn't know they were there unless you knew. This somehow made her feel better about trading out the utility of her usual clothing with the delicate comfort of Carja maternity dresses.

“A woman needs a place to carry things now and again,” the seamstress said. “So what do you think?”

Turning back to the mirror, Aloy examined how the dress hugged her top, the wide folded straps beneath her tumbling red hair. “You don't think it's too much… boob?” she asked.

Both Anehita and Pavati laughed. Aloy knew why, they had both grown up around the more revealing Carja clothing. Nora women, on the other hand, would never dream of walking around showing so much of the skin on their chest.

“Aloy, this is the style,” Anehita said. “And it looks great on you, just wait until Erend sees it.”

Aloy ran a hand down her belly, the silk felt nice under her fingers. “Well, I'm willing to try it,” she said. “This is the first time I've felt fully comfortable in anything in days.”

“Wonderful,” Pavati gushed. “Why don't you slip out of that one and I'll pack them all up, I hope you like the color variety.”

“Actually, I think I'll wear this out.”

They packed her old clothes separately, and soon Aloy was walking out with two large shopping bags on her shoulder, the blue dress flowing around her as she walked.

“Want me to carry those?” Anehita asked.

“Here, how about you take one,” Aloy replied, offering her one of the two bags and keeping the other.  
They made the walk to Aloy’s apartment quickly, wanting to unload their burdens. “I'm glad you decided to get them,” Anehita said, as they plopped the bags onto the couch.

Aloy turned on the spot, letting the dress move around her. “Me too,” Aloy said. “In fact, I think I'll go swing by and visit Erend at work. Unless you wanted to…”

“Oh, no you go surprise him,” Anehita said, hugging her friend goodbye. “I'll see you next week for your check up.”

Spring was in the air as Aloy made the walk from her front door to the Sun Palace in the early afternoon light. She had to admit she really did enjoy how the dress made her feel. Getting bigger was something she sometimes struggled with, but she didn't feel self conscious in this, even with the neckline.

A pleasant breeze blew threw her hair as she walked the bridge across from the main Mesa to the palace, on either side of her the Carja guards thumped their weapons, standing at attention as she passed. She lifted the front hem of the skirt up as she ascended the stairs, climbing up to the top terrace.

She went to look into the royal sitting room, not actually sure where to find him at this time of day.

“Aloy!”

This was not Erend’s voice, calling to her through the door. Instead it was the Sun King himself, he rose from his high backed chair as she stepped through and into the sitting room.

“Good Afternoon, Avad,” Aloy greeted, coming closer.

As he approached he held his arms wide, a look of sheer joy on his face as he looked her over. “You look simply radiant,” he said. “Pregnancy suits you. May I?”

The King had reached her now, extending a hand and placing it in her pregnant belly. It surprised her. “Well, you already are, so…” she murmured.

He didn't seem hindered by this response, bringing a second hand to her round stomach. “I can't begin to tell you how happy I am for you and Erend,” he said. “This little baby is going to bring you both so much happiness.”

Aloy softened at his kind words, relaxing a bit and minding less as he was still touching her. She looked past him, to where the stairs came up from the lower floors of the palace, as she heard voices approaching.

“Would you rather a boy or a girl?” Avad asked,

Erend and Marad emerged from the door from below, talking in low voices. She watched as Erend's eyes shifted from his walking companion, moving into the room and spotting Avad and her. The King still had hands on her stomach and for a second she was sure she saw fire flash in her beloved’s eyes.

“Erend!” she greeted, exuberantly, partially to alert Avad that perhaps now was the time to stop touching her. Which he fortunately did do, stepping from between them as if he could physically feel the withering look.

However, once Erend finally had a better view of Aloy across the room, his demeanor shifted. She watched his eyes move up and down her body, taking in the way the dress fit across her belly, his eyes hung up on the skin between her breasts.

“That’s new,” he managed to say after a moment, having apparently forgotten the flash of annoyance from seeing Avad with his hands on her belly.

Marad was stifling a laugh next to him, watching this. Erend seemed to come back to himself, turning to give the laughing man a look.

“It is,” Aloy said. “Finally got some real maternity clothes.”

“You look…” Erend shook his head, eyes roving her, looking like he was almost afraid to come too close in front of Avad and Marad. “I mean that dress is…” He seemed to be having trouble figuring out what to say, and now even the King was looking amused.

Aloy simply smiled, feeling warm as his eyes continued to take all of her in, from the way the silk pleated near her hips, to the way is was pulled tighter across her pregnant belly.

The King cleared his throat, Erend’s eyes snapped to him, his face reddening slightly as he realized how blatantly he’d been gaping at her. “Erend, why don’t you and Aloy step outside for a bit,” Avad said. “Marad and I have some things to discuss anyway.”

Aloy didn’t believe they actually did, but Erend didn’t need to be told twice. He slid his arm around her waist and soon was walking her clear out the sitting room door and out onto the terrace. He didn’t stop here, whisking her down the first set of steps to the landing that they often fondly referred to as “their” landing, as they’d had a fair few good memories standing there at that marble railing looking out at the city.

Erend slid his arm from her waist, turning her around and looking her over yet again. “You look… amazing,” he breathed as her front came back to face his. He slid a hand onto her growing belly, his eyes caught up somewhere in her heavily exposed cleavage.

“Anehita said you would like it,” Aloy said, holding back a laugh as he seemed genuinely speechless upon seeing her in this dress.

“Will… will you be wearing this when I get home?” he asked in a far off voice, his eyes now on her tummy, hand moving in slow circular motion along the silk clad curves of it.

“Yes,” she answered, smiling as his eyes came up to hers. “Actually, I got a few of these. It's very comfortable so…”

“You'll be wearing dresses like this all the time?” Erend asked, looking a mix of hopeful and excited, one hand still on her belly, the other moving some of her hair back over her shoulder, his fingers brushing the skin along the wide strap of the dress.

Aloy raised her eyebrows, unable to help the smile on her face. “You really like it that much?” she asked.

Erend answered her with a kiss, a bit more of a kiss than she had been expecting, as his hand slid to her neck, her belly sandwiched between them. He didn't usually kiss her like this in public, let alone twenty feet from where his boss, the King was going about his day to day.

“Yeah, I think I might like it that much,” he whispered against her lips, resting his forehead on hers.

Aloy placed a hand over his on the side of her domed belly. “I love you,” she said, as her heart was filled to the brim with his affections.

“I love you too,” he said, kissing her again.

As Aloy walked the bridge back over to Meridian, she was glad she had decided to stop by. She felt light and content in a way only Erend ever made her feel. She looked back as she reached the end of the bridge, Erend was still standing on their landing, a broad smiled on his face as he watched her go. She waved to him before turning to pass through the arches, knowing he would watch until she was out of sight.

—————-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of curiosity would it be weird to have pregnant dirty bits? Asking for a friend. 
> 
> Thanks for reading my indulgent fluff. :-)


	4. The View

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we all in a sugar coma from this yet? No? Maybe after this...

“So, you’re half way there,” Anehita said, as she helped Aloy up onto the examination table with in her room inside Meridian hospital. “How are you feeling?

“Is ‘tired’ an appropriate answer?” Aloy asked, toying with the fine edge of the fabric gown she’d changed into for the check up.

“Aww, it’s harder work than it looks,” Anehita said, as she scooped up her heart listening device from the tray of tools set out already. She began listening to Aloy’s heart through the gown.

“I think it’s making me moody,” Aloy said, running a hand over her growing belly overtop of the gown. “The weirdest things seem to BOTHER me when they never did before.”

Anehita laughed. “That’s actually your hormones,” she explained. “There’s a lot of stuff happening inside you right now, and the flood of hormones can, yes, cause mood swings.” After saying this she dropped the hearing device to Aloy’s stomach.

“Poor Erend,” Aloy breathed.

“Baby’s heartbeat is strong,” Anehita said, straightening up and setting down the device. “He’ll be fine, but maybe try to reign it in and remember he’s the man you love?”

“I try to,” Aloy said around the thermometer the midwife had slid into her mouth.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed some other hormone related changes,” Anehita said, doing the thing where she felt around her belly. “Increased sexual desire among them.”

Aloy nearly choked on the thermometer. She could feel the warmth spreading in her cheeks and knew she must be blushing furiously. Anehita retrieved the thermometer, checking the temperature and having the decency to stifle a laugh.

“Oh, so that’s normal?” Aloy asked after pulling herself back together.

“Very,” Anehita answered, giving her a reassuring nod.

“And… and it’s safe to keep… you know?” Aloy asked, her hands back on her belly. “We won’t hurt the baby? The bigger I get the more I worry… not that that’s stopped Erend so far… okay, that’s probably too much information.”

Again Anehita was laughing. “I bet it hasn’t,” she said. “Technically you are safe to continue having sex all the way up to the end, but if you wanted to tell him something different I wouldn’t blame you.”

Aloy considered this then shook her head. “Not necessary,” she said. “It’s… nice that he’s still attracted to me… you know, considering.” She gestured to her pregnant tummy before tucking some of her red hair back behind her own ear.

“I never thought for even a moment he wouldn’t find you beautiful while carrying his baby,” Anehita said. “We’re all done, by the way.”

Aloy slid off of the table and set to removing the examination gown. Anehita helped her slide her dress back on over her head, even tying the belt back for her.

“Next check up is going into the final tri-mester,” she said, as she let the cords of the belt fall down along either side of Aloy’s belly. “You’ll probably want to bring Erend so we can talk about what to expect in those last months, and start making a birth plan for when you go into labor.”

A flood of fear and dread spread through Aloy at the word “labor”. Some of this must have shown on her face because soon her midwife and friend was hugging her, running a comforting hand up and down Aloy’s back.

“You’re going to do great,” Anehita promised, as she stepped back. “I know it’s scary but Erend and I will be there, and if anyone can handle the strain of child’s birth, it’s you.”

  
“I hope you’re right,” Aloy murmured, looking down at the top silk clad curve of her tummy. “I’ve been focused so much on being pregnant that I haven’t been thinking about what comes after…” She trailed off.

“Try not to dwell on the delivery too much,” Anehita said, holding the door open for them to leave. “Think about after the birth. Like seeing Erend hold your child for the first time. Those sort of things.”

As they walked the hospital halls back towards the main entrance, the image of Erend meeting their child hit Aloy. He was such a substantial man, she knew that a newborn would be tiny in his arms, dwarfed by muscle and bulk. The idea made her smile.

“That’s going to be quite a moment,” Aloy agreed, as they reached reception.

“I bet Brant fifteen shards that Erend will cry,” Anehita said, winking. “I rather like my odds.”

“That’s probably a safe bet,” Aloy answered, allowing one last hug goodbye. Then she left the hospital, making her way back home her mind full of daydreams of Erend holding their baby.

She couldn’t wait to see it for real.

—————

Erend was steeling himself the whole way home from work. It had been a long day, and he wasn't sure the conversation he needed to have with Aloy was going to go well, so he doddled. He took an unnecessary amount of time in the market, though there was nothing he needed there. Finally, he drug himself home, checking on the doorstep for a moment before pushing it open and going inside.

Aloy was sitting on one end of the couch, a book half balanced on her pregnant belly as she read it. She was nearly five months pregnant now, wearing a maternity dress in hues of green that cascaded over her legs and nearly to the floor. She looked up as he entered, a small smile crossing her lips.

Erend didn't hang up his maul like he usually did, instead he came to the couch and extended a hand to her. She slid the book off of her, allowing him to heave her to her feet, a task that wasn't as easy as it once was. She held her lower back as she straightened up.

“I was wondering if you'd take a walk with me,” Erend said, in lieu of a normal greeting.

“Just for the sake of walking?” she asked, scrunching up her face like this didn't sound appealing.

Erend had placed his hands on either side of her round belly, his fingers sliding gently across the silk that draped over it. “No,” he answered, shaking his head. “I wanted you to come look at something with me.”

Her eyebrows went from furrowed to arching high, as she gave him a look that clearly told him that vague something wasn't going to fly if he expected her to carry her pregnant butt out of the house right now.

“It's an apartment.”

Aloy’s whole demeanor changed, she leaned back from him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Erend, we've been over this,” she said, annoyance ringing her voice. “I don't want to start looking or thinking about moving right now. There is nothing wrong with our place.”

“I'm not saying that there is,” he said, dropping his eyes from her hot gaze, looking instead to her beautiful round belly.

Aloy has been hormonal lately, no other word for it. The ability to go from cool and collected to ready to claw him has come along with this, and Erend was still learning how to carefully navigate her when this happened.

“And yet you've been apartment hunting anyway,” she said, it was a statement not a question. “Both without my knowledge and, well, without ME.”

There it was, the real problem. He hadn't included her in the search.

“Truth is, I haven't been looking,” he said, and when she pursed her lips at him he insisted. “I'm serious, I wasn't looking for it, I just sort of… found it.”

Erend brought his eyes up from her baby belly, her arms were still crossed and she's gone so far as to turn her face away, staring off into the kitchen as if there was anything in there to look at at the moment.

He brought a hand up, gentle fingers moving to her jawline, turning her face to look at him. “Just… come look at it with me,” he pleaded. “If you hate it, I'll never bring up moving again until you're ready.”

Aloy let out a sigh, he could feel her softening, her hazel eyes coming back to his. “You promise?” she asked. “I go look at this apartment and you'll stop pestering me about this?”

“I promise,” Erend said, leaning to press his lips to hers.

She took a little while to get ready to leave, going upstairs to put on shoes, and pull a wrap around her shoulders as the sun was sure to set while they were out. He slid an arm around her back as they stepped out the front door, wondering if he knew what he was doing.

Erend felt proud to walk with Aloy through Meridian, the beautiful mother of his child. He even liked the looks they got from people as they passed, many smiles and it was like leaving a trail of happiness behind them as they went by.

They walked through the market, turning to leave out the left hand side away from the route they would have taken to the Palace. Down a few blocks, and they were there.

It was settled on a tiny square, the center of which held a decorative fountain. He guided her past this, to the foot of a stair case that climbed up to a second floor apartment.

“There are stairs just to get in?” Aloy asked, again with the scrunched disapproving face.

“Give it a chance,” Erend said, a pleading tone to his voice. He tightened his arm around her as they ascended the wooden steps. She grumbled but didn't argue further.

This was it, he thought as they reached the front door. She was either going to love it as much as he did, or she was going to hate it and they would never move because he would be afraid to ever bring it up again.

Either way, Erend was ready to find out. So he unlatched the door and pushed it open.

He couldn't help but hold his breath, as he ushered Aloy inside. The apartment was bigger than their current one, and all on one floor. The main room which was living room, dining room, and at one end kitchen, was an open and airy space. There were windows down the opposite wall that filled the room with light.

Aloy separated from him, walking into the apartment, her eyes scanning it, turning slowly on the spot.

“It has a washroom that's even bigger than ours,” Erend said. “And TWO bedrooms, one of which we would make the baby’s nursery. But the best part?”

He walked past her, she hadn't seemed to have noticed the double doors alongside the living room, nor what was beyond them. Erend flung them open wide, a breeze blowing in from outside.

When he turned to look at Aloy, her eyes were wide as she realized there was a view south to the Spire itself, not only that, but that these doors opened up to their own private balcony that overlooked this. He kept his eyes on her face, as she slowly walked out onto the balcony, she had a hand on her silk clad tummy, the other was holding her wrap around her.

Erend came to her shoulder, sliding an arm around her as she looked out over the carved wooden railing, her eyes were sparkling, all vestiges of annoyance long gone as she leaned slightly against him.

“This view,” she said, sounding surprised and a little breathless.

“Exactly,” he said, running his hand gently along her back over the silk wrap, fingers brushing the tips of her ginger hair.

“Can we afford it?” Aloy asked.

Erend's heart leapt into his throat, he pulled her gently to look at him. “Yes,” he said, with complete surety. “I… I've been saving. For months actually, since before I even knew what I was even saving for.” He ran his hand along the curve of her belly, looking down at it fondly. “Are you seriously considering this?” He couldn't keep the excitement from his voice, the hope that rose inside of him at this.

Aloy smiled at him. “I wouldn't be able to help move a thing,” she said, looking amused as his excitement started to overflow.

“You won't need to,” he insisted. “I have a whole gang of Vanguard I can tap to help move us. Here, come see the room I think we should make into the nursery.”

Erend seized her hand, pulling her along with him back inside. The bedrooms were side by side at one end of the house, he went for the door on the right.

The room beyond was small, but bright as it had the same southern facing windows as the main room. Erend went to this and opened one, allowing a cool breeze to blow through it. The view of the spire could be seen here too.

“We can put the crib here,” he said, pointing to the wall that would be shared with their own bedroom. “And I'll get a rocking chair for you and put it here, by the window.”

Erend looked back at her, framed in the doorway. She had crossed her arms over her chest, and was smiling broadly at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You've put a lot of thought into this,” Aloy said. “It’s… cute.”

“Something about this place just,” Erend said, straightening up. “It's like I could see it, the moment I walked in. I could see us here. I could see you relaxing on the balcony while I cook dinner. Or see you rocking the baby to sleep by the window in here, moonlight shining through.”

He had said this last bit, while holding his arms as if holding a tiny little baby, rocking this imaginary baby. When he turned back Aloy was looking at him with such fondness his heart was filled with it. Then her face shifted in surprise and she let out a startled “Oh!” as both her hands fell to her belly.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Erend rushed forward, she didn't answer just reached forward and seized one of his wrists, pressing his hand onto her stomach, looking up at him with expectant eyes.

At first he didn't understand, didn't feel what she wanted him to feel. Then a thump, from within her belly, followed by another, then motion as if the baby was squirming. Erend couldn't think of words, he knew his eyes had to be as wide as dinner plates as he brought his other hand to her belly as well.

Aloy looked like she might cry. “I've never felt the baby move before,” she whispered. “Feel those strong little kicks?”

Erend couldn't help but kiss her, he kept his hands on her tummy, their child still moving beneath his fingers, as he bent down to press his lips to hers. “I think the baby must like the apartment too,” he said.

She laughed, her fingers sliding into his as they both stood there, feeling their child’s first motions inside the womb. The sun was setting out the window, sky turning a brilliant array of oranges and reds. Erend could see this out of the corner of his eye, his gaze still upon Aloy’s pregnant belly.

It was overwhelming and suddenly this was all the more real. The baby was _moving_. A tear spilled from the corner of his eye, he felt it roll down his cheek but he didn't care. Their child was _moving_.

They stood there for a long while, until the baby seemed to tire itself out and go still again. Erend is almost sad when this happens, he could probably have stayed there with his hands on her belly for hours feeling those movements. Aloy’s eyes are glassy when he looks up to them, and he tugged her into his arms, sandwiching her baby belly between them.

“You know,” he said, resting the hairy side of his cheek on top of her head. “We Oseram don't believe in signs but…”

Aloy laughed, her belly shook against him as she did this. “Some signs even a cynic can't ignore,” she finished his thought. “Thank you for making me come.”

Erend stroked her hair, and kissed her forehead. “We are going to be so happy here,” he said. “I can feel it.”

“Me too,” Aloy whispered, she pulled her face from his shoulder, turning her head up and bringing her lips to his, kissing him in what would soon become their child’s bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little dusty in here as I reread this last bit which was written for a while. 
> 
> Time is gonna slow down a bit. Some actual things happen in the last months of her pregnancy. I'm excited to get to them. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and a special thanks to the commenters. 
> 
> Still want more feedback on dirty bits... I think the answer is yes overall. I think.


	5. The Move

“Oh no, I’ll carry that,” Anehita said, prying a crate from Aloy’s hands.

“It’s just pillows!” Aloy protested, but to no avail. Her friend was already halfway to the front door.

When Aloy had insisted she would be moving nothing, she hadn’t realized how hard it would be to stand back and watch as their home was dismantled around her. She’d already watched the Vanguard empty their bedroom, carrying out the desk upon which Erend had written her letters, taking apart the bed they’d first been together in, and cleaning out the closets.

Now it was the ground floor slowly emptying. Aloy’s eyes went to Erend, who was personally crating and packing his cookware and utensils in the kitchen. If he was feeling any doubts about the move, he wasn’t showing it at the moment.

Wanting some time with her thoughts, Aloy quietly climbed the stairs back up into the loft of a bedroom. A hand found its way to her aching back as she went, the other was on her domed belly. Late morning light flooded the bedroom from the now curtain-less windows as she walked the empty space, taking it all in for what she realized would be the last time.

Hard to forget the first time she’d stepped foot in the room. It seemed an eternity ago that she had arrived in Meridian frantic and worried because Erend was missing. She’d even spent a couple nights sleeping there without him, but it would be the nights she’d spent there WITH him that made it difficult to leave the place.

The baby had awoken, Aloy could feel it moving, and soon there were firm little kicks that warmed Aloy’s heart. She wondered if feeling her child move in the womb would ever get old. For now she relished in it, placing both hands on the silken curve, absorbing the feel of every kick and squirm.

“Aloy?”

Erend’s voice proceeded him as he climbed the stairs. He must have finished packing up the kitchen and looked around for her.

“I’m here,” she answered, turning to see him enter the bedroom, closing the space between them with a few quick steps.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his hands joining hers automatically on her round tummy.

This simple gesture made Aloy feel worlds better. She brought her eyes up to his, meeting his concerned look. Lifting an arm, she placed a hand on his cheek, running her thumb along the top edge of the hair along his jawline.

“Yeah, just…” She looked around them. “Memories.”

Erend let out a low grunt. “You have no idea,” he said. “I keep thinking about Ersa.”

Immediately Aloy felt guilty, having completely forgotten that the memories of this place ran significantly deeper for Erend than they did for her. Erend had dropped his eyes back to her belly, hands moving across the blue silk beneath which the baby was having a good time trying to move as much as possible.

Erend’s eyes were alight as they always were when he got to feel their baby move. He bent and placed a kiss somewhere near her belly button, whispering to the baby as he had taken to doing. “Easy there little one, you’ll wear yourself out.”

“Ersa would be so proud of you,” Aloy said, fondly, as he straightened up again. “Her little brother all grown up, having a baby, buying a new fancy home.”

“With money I saved from not drinking,” Erend added, a smile turning up the edges of his lips. “She’d probably ask me who I was and what happened to her drunk lump of a brother.”

Aloy laughed, her belly shaking beneath their hands. “Is it me?” she asked playfully. “Am I what happened?”

“You and the near end of the world, I supposed,” he answered.

Brant’s voice called up the stairs to them. “We’re making another run and then all that's left is the dining set.”

“Thanks, brother,” Erend called back.

For a couple minutes they stood in silence in their old bedroom, fingers entwined between one another where they rested on her tummy. The baby was quieting, the kicks becoming lighter and more sporadic. Then something occurred to Aloy that made her feel warm and hopeful.

“We’ll make new memories,” she said, giving him a smile. “Fill the new place full of them.”

Erend’s head popped up, eyes back on hers, they crinkled at the edges as he returned the smile. “Memories of our new little family,” he said.

The word family washed over Aloy like a tidal wave. She’d never had a traditional family growing up, and it wasn’t until he said this that she realized that was no longer the case. They… were a family. Soon to be a family of three, mother, father and child.

A normal family.

Tears were falling from Aloy’s eyes before she even realized. Erend looked confused and concerned, but he wound his arms around her, pulling her at an angle against his chest, her belly turned sideways so as not to squish it between them.

“I love you, so much,” Erend whispered, rocking them as he held her close to him.

“I love you, too,” she replied, into the scarf around his neck, now damp with her tears. “I’m so happy to be building a family with you.”

“So… these are happy tears?” he asked, his tone light.

Aloy let out a few sniffs, pulling herself up from his shoulder. “I’m pretty sure they’re hormonal tears, to be honest,” she said, with a wet laugh.

Erend eased her towards the stairs, and she went with him, leaning against his side, his hand firm around her back as they stepped off the flight. They paused level with the dining room table, where she had once stitched him back up after retrieving him from Dervahl’s dungeon, the only furniture left in the entire apartment.

“It served me well, this place,” Erend said, looking around. “It’s time for someone else to start their life in Meridian here.”

Aloy knew he was right, joining him in gazing around the empty room. Eyes moving over the kitchen where they spent post meals cleaning dishes together. “Meanwhile, we will settle into our new home,” she said.

“Yeah, we will,” he said. “You ready? I can come back with the guys to get the table and chairs.”

“Let’s go home.” Aloy tilted her face up to his, and he bestowed a brief kiss upon her lips, before whisking them from room.

—————-

The streets of Meridian were bustling with activity, something that had actually made the move a bit of an adventure that day. Erend was happy to see the light at the end of that tunnel though, with the majority of their things already at their new apartment.

Bearing this in mind, he struck a slow pace for their walk. Aloy didn’t seem to mind, she was leaning against his side, a reassuring pressure in the swirl of people around them.

The afternoon sun was warm, as they cut through the market, and she let out a content sigh next to him.

“I love Spring,” she said, as they continued on out the other end of the market.

Erend, for the first time that day, took in the weather. The sky was peppered with white fluffy clouds and the air was full of the scent of fresh blooms from every window box along their way. “It’s probably the best season,” he replied. “We met in Spring after all.”

They reached the small square their new home was situated on, walking around the decorative fountain at the center to the stairs.

“Rost used to say Spring was for new beginnings,” Aloy said. “New blossoms on the trees. Baby birds bursting from their eggs. Rebirth.”

Erend considered this. They’d reached the top of the stairs and through the already open front door he could see Brant and Gunnar moving the coffee table into place. Aloy broke off from his side as they entered, going into the bedroom where Anehita was setting to dressing the bed for them.

They would need to purchase more furniture, he realized, as the main room still had room for more. They could get a second sofa, to accommodate guests. There was so much to do still before the baby was born.

“You okay, Cap?”

Blinking, Erend turned to see Brant had come to his shoulder. “Yeah, just… a big day y’know?”

Brant rubbed a gloved hand through his hair, nodding. “That it is,” he agreed. “Ready to go get the last of it?”

Erend nodded, not trusting himself to speak as his stomach was starting to twist. He kept quiet as Brant, Gunnar, and two other Vanguard fell in step with him and they traced their way back through the city.

Suddenly, he remembers the first day he ever stepped foot in the apartment he’d come to call home for three years.

-

“So what do you think?” Ersa asked, coming back into the bedroom from the washroom. “Not bad right? Should be a nice little bachelor pad for you.”

Erend had his arms crossed over his steel clad chest, eying the empty room. “Yeah, I guess,” he said. “I just figured we would get a place together, you know?”

He watched her face carefully, waiting to see if she would admit the thing that was the true reason she didn’t wanna keep bunking with her little brother. Ersa kept her eyes on the window for a moment, carefully arranging her expression.

“Come now, little brother,” she said, giving him a wicked smile. “You can’t live with me forever. Besides, how are you ever going to find yourself a girl sharing a place with your sister?”

Ersa didn’t seem to expect an answer to this, she gave him one last sharp look before descending the stairs. Her closely cropped hair disappearing, Erend shook his head.

He wondered if there would ever be a time she would admit the truth to him. Ersa had been sneaking from their shared quarters for weeks to see Avad in the wee hours of nights, and Erend, being a good brother, had had the decency to pretend he was being fooled.

The apartment was actually pretty decent, he thought as he eyed the large loft bedroom. It was far better than any place he’d ever lived before, even if he was having trouble imagining himself living in one place for longer than a month.

“You coming?” Ersa’s voice called from downstairs.

-

“Cap, you coming?” Brant asked.

Erend blinked, realizing they’d reached their destination, and he had paused absentmindedly on the street in front. Brant was standing framed in the open front door, a bemused grin behind his goatee.

By the time Erend was through the door, the table was already being carried off, and Gunnar was taking two chairs, one in each hand. They all sidled out the door, leaving Erend and Brant with one chair each to carry.

For some reason, Erend went to one and plopped down upon it.

Brant had bent to pick up the other chair, his hand clasped on the backrest. After a moment’s hesitation, he rotated the chair instead and sat on it backwards, his legs straddling the back rest, arms crossed over the top, staring down his friend and captain.

“Seriously, what’s up?” he asked.

Erend sighed, leaning his chair back on two legs, precariously holding his balance with the toes of his boots. “You know Ersa picked this apartment out?” he asked. “Dragged me here to look at it, talked me into getting it too, as I had doubts.”

“And… now you have doubts about the new place?” Brant asked, still trying to suss out the problem.

“More I have doubts about letting this place go,” Erend answered. “Almost everything in my life has changed since we lost Ersa. I got promoted. I fell in love.”

“You saved the world,” Brant interjected.

“I killed Dervahl. I’m having a baby,” Erend went on. “Somehow it didn’t hit me until today that this apartment was the last big unchanged thing in my life.”

The look on Brant’s face shifted into one of understanding, as he nodded slowly. “I was starting to worry you were getting cold feet, Cap,” he said.

Erend let out a bark of a laugh. “What about? Aloy? Never,” he answered, letting the chair fall back to all four legs, shaking his head. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I’m spending the rest of my life with that woman. So… not cold feet, but I guess I am worried that I’m not ready.”

“How do you mean?” Brant asked.

“I don’t think I’ve ever actually held a baby,” Erend answered, looking down at his hands. “A kid here or there, but never a baby baby. What if I break it?”

“You’re not going to break your baby.”

“You don’t know that,” Erend insisted, looking up from his own palms. “What if I’m not gentle enough? What if I - “

“Erend, you’re not going to hurt the baby.”

It wasn’t often that any of his men used his proper first name, and it was enough to shut Erend up for a moment, meeting his friends firm look. Silence hung over them for a moment, before Brant pressed on.

“You know, I was twelve when my little sister was born. I was terrified to hold her, to touch her, to even get near her,” Brant said. Erend straightened up, listening. “First time I held her, my mom needed help. Another set of hands, and she handed her to me absentmindedly going from one task to another. I was so startled, but once she was there, in my arms, I realized how silly I was being. Trust me, once you feel that baby, you'll know just how to hold it.”

Erend took this in. Brant had talked a couple times of his sister, who was still young and living back in his old village in the Claim, but it had never struck the captain how big the age gap truly was. Brant was giving him a reassuring smile, arms still crossed over the back of the chair.

“Trust me,” he said.

Somehow, Erend did. So as he said goodbye to his bachelor pad, tucking the chair he'd been sitting in under one arm, he found it just a bit easier to go.

—————-

The sun was setting, as the Vanguard departed having dropped off the dining table and half the chairs. Aloy wondered idly what was keeping Erend and Brant but busied herself with arranging the pillows on the sofa, and putting her clothing back in the dresser.

Anehita had stayed, she’d hung their curtains in the sitting room, and chatted while they folded clothes.

“I’ve actually been thinking about getting rid of my place,” she said, as they finished this task and stood surveying the bedroom.

“Oh?” Aloy led the way back into the main room of the house, still grappling with the idea that she now LIVED there.

“Yeah, you know I spend most of my time at Brant’s anyway,” Anehita answered. “Such a waste of shards to keep paying rent on it.”

Anehita lived in the tiniest little apartment at the other end of town. Aloy had only been there once, as what her friend stated was indeed true, usually Anehita was to be found at her boyfriend’s house.

Aloy went to the double doors, which were wood from the waist down, but had thick paned glass windows that glowed red with the sunset light beyond. She threw them open, and gestured for her friend to come stand with her out on the balcony.

“So you two are doing good then?” Aloy asked, placing her hands on the carved wooden railing, looking out over the pathways below that hugged the Mesa’s edge, over the gazebo’s that looked out over the valley, and on to the Spire which reflected the colors of the warm sky.

“I think so,” Anehita said, turning to face Aloy, leaning her hip on the rail. “Plus, seeing you and Erend, settling in. It’s got me thinking about the future.”

Aloy, drawing a hand back to rest on her round tummy, looked to Anehita, who was fiddling with the bun she always seemed to have her hair in. Silently, Aloy hoped she hadn’t accidentally set unrealistic expectations for Brant to meet. Though, admittedly, all signs pointed to the Vanguard being quite smitten.

Behind them, the front door to the apartment opened, Brant and Erend sidling in with the two remaining dining chairs. Anehita went to meet them, but Aloy simply turned, resting her back on the railing and watching through the open door as the boys slid the chairs into place around the table in the kitchen.

Then Brant turned and hugged Anehita to him, giving her a kiss.

Aloy thought the smile might just crack her face in two, as the couple exchanged a couple words with Erend, then waved to her on the balcony before leaving.

Erend wasted no time in joining her, one gloved hand coming to the side of her pregnant belly, the other to her neck as he kissed her. The breeze blew through her hair as their lips moved against one another, warmth pooling in her chest.

Neither of them spoke as they stood there on the balcony, watching the sun set, the sky going from red to deep inky blue. They just stood, holding each other, enjoying the calm of their first evening in their new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always feel so warm and fuzzy after finalizing one of these chapters. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and indulging in this fluff.


	6. The First Gift

“So… you're saying you forgot her birthday,” Brant said.

They were walking the East bridge, mid way through their rounds for the day. Erend let out a groan.

“No I'm saying I didn't know her birthday!” Erend insisted.

For a moment the only sound was their boots on the wooden slats of the bridge. “Haven't you guys known each other for over a year?” Brant asked.

Erend wanted to elbow his friend, even though on some level he knew this oversight was on him. He HAD known her for over a year. They'd been together for nearly that long in fact and yet the lack of notable birthday during that time had gone unnoticed, that is until they had moved.

It was the day after, and Aloy was standing framed in the nursery door, running her fingers over the frame. She'd told him she wanted to measure their child's height and mark it there, much as Rost had done for her every birthday at the cabin.

That's when it had hit him, that he had no idea when her birthday actually was.

“She never told me,” Erend asked. “I remember asking once and not getting a straight answer. Then we were fighting a war and then we were pregnant, and somehow it fell to the wayside.”

Brant let out a long whistle. “So now you've been sleeping on the couch right?”

They walked through the archway back onto the main mesa, making the turn to the right along the Northern route through the city. Erend laughed at this.

“Of course not,” he said “She claims she doesn't care. Says she's never cared about her birthday which is why she didn't mention it when it occurred: three weeks ago.”

“SERIOUSLY?!” Brant stopped, now looking flabbergasted himself. “Anehita is going to kill her. Here I thought it must have been in the middle of everything that happened when we were in the Motherland…”

“Nope. Three weeks. We were here,” Erend said, pointing to the ground. “She just kept it to herself.”

Erend gave his friend a shove in the shoulder to get them moving again, wending between the people on the streets as they went. It was late morning and the city was fully awake, and full to the brim with people out enjoying the Spring weather.

“So what are you gonna do about it?” Brant asked.

“It might be a bad idea,” Erend said. “But I am thinking about letting Avad throw that baby shower for her.”

Brant dissolved into laughter, so much so he had to stop and seek physical support from a wall or he might fall over. “So,” he said through laughs. “For her birthday you're going to give her something she doesn't want at all?”

“She just thinks she doesn't want it,” Erend insisted, hooking his friends arms and dragging him on with him. “But I think once it's in the moment, and all her friends are there, and giving her things for the baby… she's going to hopefully hate it a lot less than she thinks she will.”

Brant was bobbing his head up and down beside Erend as they walked. “I'm sure Annie will help plan it if you ask,” he said. “Actually, let me rephrase that: Annie will help and you better ask because otherwise she's gonna be annoyed at you, and when she's annoyed I have to hear about it so if you could just-“

“Relax, relax, I was going to ask her for help,” Erend said. “She and Avad can just go to town planning things that way I don't have to try. Something tells me baby shower planning isn't exactly in my wheelhouse.”

“Have you thought about what you'll get her?” Brant asked.

“About that,” Erend said. “I think I'm going to need your help.”

Brant looked confused. Erend stopped him at the mouth of the market, looking around. “Here, we have time, come on,” Erend said, taking them off of their tour and cutting through the market to the other side.

“Where are we going?” Brant asked, as they reached the elevators

Erend threw the switch, calling up a car. “You'll see.”

The elevator arrived, and the two Vanguard piled in, along with a couple Carja citizens also descending into the valley, riding it down listening to them chatter about their shopping. Once at the bottom, Erend led them off to the right, and around the bend to the West.

“Are we heading to Gunnar's?” Brant asked.

“Well, sort of,” Erend said. “I've been using his shop, he doesn't do much work in there anyway, and I needed somewhere Aloy wouldn't think to come to.”

Brant was looking good and perplexed at this stage, but followed his Captain into the shop tucked around back of the little cabin towards the stream. Inside was packed with tools on every wall, Erend went straight to a lathe in the corner, pulling off a wooden post he'd been working on.

“Been ages since I've done any real wood work,” Erend said, running his fingers over the carved ridges. “So it's taking me longer than I thought, and now with the baby shower I suddenly have a deadline.”

“So you could use an extra set of hands,” Brant said, his eyes moving over the already cut pieces in the shop, his brows furrowed. He hesitated asking the next question. “But, what is it? What are you building?”

Erend wasn't offended, as he had barely gotten started so far. He laughed, handed the carved wood rail to Brant, and said “What’s the first gift an Oseram baby should receive?”

“Ohhhhh, of course,” Brant said. “I should have realized. Though, technically, you're not following the tradition precisely.”

Brant gave him a look, and Erend cleared his throat. “Well, maybe I'm working on that part, too.”

“WHAT?!?” Brant looked jubilant, eyes wide.

Erend shushed him as if there was a chance Aloy could hear him from their home up in the city. “One thing at a time,” he said in a whisper. “So will you help me or not?”

“Cap, it would be my honor,” Brant said. Then his face fell a little, and he looked down at the piece of wood in his hand. Erend was about to ask him why, when his next sentence rendered it needless. “Elof should have been here for this.”

Erend let out a long sigh, and pat his friend on the shoulder. “Yeah, he should have been.”

Then, the two men hugged. Gloved hands patting shoulders, armored chest clanked together. Erend could probably count the number of times he'd hugged one of his men on one hand, but this one he felt he needed as much as Brant did.

—————-

  
The day of the baby shower arrived overcast and drizzly. Aloy felt that this was likely a reflection of her own mood, as she had tried and failed to prevent the shower from ever occurring. Erend had stepped in, helped even with the planning, promised to keep the King in check.

Aloy still had doubts, as she dressed for the event, today in an Oseram yellow maternity dress. She had been saving it, knowing how much Erend would enjoy seeing her in the color of his tribe. She slid this goldenrod garment over her head, enjoying the feel of the silk as it slid over her skin.

As she tugged it down into its proper location, she heard some sort of loud noise out beyond the bedroom. A clunk, and some cursing, followed by something heavy sliding across the floor.

Erend hadn't been home when she had gotten out of the bath, now it sounded like he was home and… rearranging furniture? She listened for a moment, hearing him talking to someone, this successfully kept her from investigating in a half dressed state.

So she kept getting ready, listening as the sounds seemed to drift into the adjacent bedroom, and future nursery for their child.

As she tied the tie of the dress around her waist, cinching it above her belly she could hear something bang on the wall shared between the two bedrooms. At this point the curiosity was rising, what on earth could he be doing?

She hunted for her shoes rapidly. No longer did Aloy wear boots, or shoes made of leather. Instead she located and slipped on what in her mind amounted to silk slippers, but the longer she was pregnant the more grateful she was for this as her feet always seemed to be hurting these days.

The first thing she saw when she pushed open the bedroom door to come out into the living room was Brant, attempting to sneak out quietly.

“Brant?”

He sighed, stopping just a couple steps from the front door, arm extended for the handle.

“Morning Aloy,” he said, clearly attempting to sound casual, turning his outstretched arm into a wave. “You look lovely today, is that a new dress?”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “Shouldn't you be getting ready for the baby shower with Anehita?”  
  
The door to the nursery opened, and Erend stepped out. He cleared his throat, drawing Aloy’s eyes to him. “Brant was just helping me out with something,” he said. “And NOW he's going.” He threw a pointed look at Brant, who looked like he very much agreed.

“Sure am, I…” Brant’s voice faltered as Aloy turned her eyes back to him. “I… will see you both at the baby shower?” His statement had turned into a question as he took another step towards the door.

“Sure thing, brother,” Erend said. He had come to Aloy’s side now, she felt his hand sliding to rest on the small of her back.

Brant didn't wait for Aloy to say anything else. He left so quickly that had she blinked she might have missed it. She rounded on Erend, his hand dropping to his side as she did so. “What was that about?”

Erend laughed at her slight indignation, placing a soothing hand on her round belly. “You look beautiful,” he said, his hand moving in a lazy motion over her mound of a stomach sliding across the golden silk that was stretched over it.

Aloy felt herself relax, her eyes coming up to his. “You like the color?” she asked.

“That's a silly question,” he said, smiling. “That you're willing to wear the color of a tribe that isn't even yours, you must love me or something.”

“Something like that,” she said, leaning her face up to him and he pressed a tender kiss to her lips.

“Alright, now I have something to show you,” he said, his forehead resting upon hers. “Something I've been working on for a while, and almost didn't finish in time.”

Aloy couldn't imagine what this could be, but had known for some time he had been doing something beyond work that sometimes kept him busy and away from the house. He had made vague excuses for a day off spent not entirely at home just the other day.

“Does this perhaps have anything to do with why you skulked home in the middle of the night last night?” Aloy asked, as he ushered her towards the door to the nursery.

“It might have had something to do with it,” he said, as he pushed open the door for them to enter the room.

Sitting along the wall to her left, was a crib. Not just any crib though, this was an intricately and beautifully carved wooden crib adorned with runes, many of which she didn't recognize.

“Did… did you MAKE this?” Aloy asked, as he guided her right up to it, his arm firm around her back.

“Yes, well, Brant helped,” Erend said. “There's an Oseram tradition. When a woman is expecting, her husband builds a crib for the baby with his own hands, and it is meant to be the baby’s first gift. Which is why, yes, I was up late last night finishing it.”

Aloy was speechless, she ran her fingers along the carved symbols, carefully etched in the wood. There were Nora and Oseram runes, blending together their heritage in a beautiful way. The wood was sanded and varnished, reflecting the light that shown in through the windows on the Southern wall of the room.

“What do they all mean?” she asked.

Erend’s hand slid from her and he started explaining different ones. Some were for basic things like warding of disease, granting strength, some were symbols for love and family. “This one,” he said pointing to one on the curved end board. “Is the symbol for my clan, right here next to…”

“Rost’s familial symbol,” Aloy said, her voice slightly tight as she recognized it. “How… I never even showed you…” Tears stung the corners of her eyes and Erend was back to wind his arms around her.

“I saw it on a couple things back at the cabin, and confirmed with Teb,” Erend answered in a soft voice, brushing a tear that had managed to spill from her eye off her cheek. “I didn't mean for it to make you sad.”

“Sad but also very … just…” Aloy shook her head, trying to rattle her thoughts back into place. “This is very sweet.”

Erend leaned, bending over the mass of pregnant belly between them to press his lips to hers again. This time for a longer kiss, their lips moving against one another in a familiar way that made her feel warm, his hand rubbing the side of her belly. Aloy hummed against his lips as they parted.

“This is a very nice tradition,” she said, turning back to the crib as he went to open the curtains a bit wider, letting in even more morning light. “But I can't help but notice a flaw: you aren't actually my husband.”

There was a moment of silence, then “About that…” he said in a low voice.

Aloy had been looking down into the crib, thinking what it would be like to be looking down at a little squirming baby within. She turned to look at him and was surprised to see he looked nervous.

“Yeah, what about it?” she asked, as he seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

Erend shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I know that in the eyes of the Nora we are already mated for life, but…” he stepped forward. “In my clan and here in Meridian, it's… different.”

“Are you asking me to marry you?” Aloy asked, realizing even though he hadn't managed to pose the question.

“I'm working on it yes,” he said with a laugh, now reaching for her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers and gently pulling her to stand with him at the windows. “That is if you'll let me finish.” He ran a thumb gently over the back of her hand.

Aloy realized she was stepping on his moment, she nodded and said nothing more. He was still holding one of her hands, his other hand went to her belly as it so often did. Only this time, at his gentle rubbing, the baby seemed to awaken, starting to stir within her.

“I love you so much,” Erend said. “More than I ever knew was possible, and yet still every day I feel like I fall in love with you even more.” The baby was kicking full force now, Aloy bringing her hand down to join his, enjoying the feeling of their child stirring between them. “And I know I don't need to lay any claim on you. I know we are in this for the long haul it's just… nothing would make me prouder than to be your husband. So yes I am trying to ask you, Aloy, future mother of my child, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Despite knowing it was coming, and having half spoiled it, Aloy’s chest swelled with emotion at hearing him actually say the words. “My husband,”she said, as if trying on the word, her fingers brushing across his where they were splayed in her stomach. The baby was still kicking away. “Would this per chance involve some big to do that our friends will make way too big a deal of.”

Erend laughed, raising one of his hands to brush hair from  
Her face, his palm sliding across her cheek. “We can go as big or as small as you like,” he promised. “So long as at the end of it, we are married I don't care how we do it.”

“Then yes, I'll marry you.”

He was kissing her in an instant, sandwiching her belly between them. The smile upon his broad lips as he pulled back from her was radiant, and she couldn't help but return it. “We better get to this shower,” Erend said. “Before Avad sends out a search party.”

As he said this an idea popped into the back of Aloy’s mind, she tried to push it down, but it echoed there. Why wait? The thought asked. It sat there in the back of her mind as she slipped a blue silk wrap over her shoulders and they departed their new apartment. An apartment they had bought together, they were already practically married after all so… why wait?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Couldn't leave you guys hanging on this for a whole month while I was doing NaNoWriMo! Plus I needed to visit my regular Aloy and Erend a bit. (Not that I don't love my Need the Sun to Break versions of them they're just... different!!)  
> Special Note:
> 
> The Oseram tradition in which the husband builds a crib for the baby is an idea that belongs to the wonderful [CranialGames](https://archiveofourown.org/users/superyuui/pseuds/cranialgames).
> 
> So, we've joked here a couple times about AtSP having different timelines. I've even had comments made about a timeline in which, for example, Elof lives. 
> 
> Well there actually is such a timeline only, the consequences were born differently. In this timeline Aloy stays safely in Mother's Watch and sends the Stormbird to save Erend. Therefore Dervahl never captured her and Elof lived. 
> 
> Unfortunately, at the end of the battle Erend is in a coma and remains so for some time. 
> 
> This was a storyline we used to talk about back and forth towards the end of me writing AtSP. [CranialGame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/superyuui/pseuds/cranialgames)'s even wrote pieces of this ([which you can read here](http://spooopygames.tumblr.com/post/167493719661/atsp-alternate-timeline)) and in those pieces came the crib.


	7. The Baby Shower (Pt 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourselves for some actual plot and what not. Miss me?

Aloy leaned into Erend’s side as they walked through the streets of Meridian. His arm was firmly around her, his fingers gripping her silk clad hip. The goldenrod maternity dress flowed around her legs as they walked, and the pair drew a few eyes as they passed.

She was used to this by now, the couple was well known around the city for numerous reasons, and having people take notice of her in her maternity dresses had become old hat over the past couple months. To think she'd once run away from the market because one person had recognized her baby bump.

Running a hand over her domed stomach, ten times the size it had been then, she nearly laughed at how silly she'd been. They rounded the last corner, the bridge to the Sun-Palace coming into view, resplendent in decorations. Pink and blue streamers hung over top of the arches, and along the railings of the bridge the whole way down.

The guards plopped their weapons down as they passed, nodding in greeting as the couple crossed the bridge.

Aloy was relieved when they reached the first landing up the stairs to see there weren't tables set up there, this at least meant that the guest list could not have been but so long. They moved right past their landing, and up the final set of marble stairs to the top terrace of the Palace. Voices were drifting from the sitting room door, enough of them that Aloy hesitated at the top step.

“It's too late to turn back, Moonflower,” Erend said, a hint of amusement in his voice, as he rubbed her back gently, urging her forward.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded and let him guide them in to the room.

Everyone began calling out to greet them at once, a cacophony of sound from all around them as the couple waded into the room. Aloy saw Talanah and Vanasha, talking in a corner, waving. She saw Itamen and his mother, he was running circles through the guests as she attempted to catch him. Vanguard were peppered everywhere, she spotted Brant with his arm firmly around Anehita, seemingly the only thing keeping Aloy’s attentive midwife from rushing across the room to greet her.

Petra somehow was there even, drinking from a tankard and hitting on one of the female Carja servants with a tray of drinks. She winked at Aloy as they went by.

“There she is, for a second I wondered if they hadn't actually convinced you to turn up.”

Aloy couldn't believe her ears, for a moment she checked to see if she was wearing her Focus, perhaps the voice was coming through that. Then she remembered she'd left it at home on the bedside stand and in any case they'd never managed to get the signal to stretch far enough before.

Erend moved from between them, his arm sliding from her back, as Aloy turned to see Teb, the lone Nora standing among so many Carja and Oseram guests.

“Teb?!” It was all she could manage to say. Teb looked much as he had done the last time she'd seen him, though perhaps his dreaded hair was a little longer in top of his head. Thanks to the warm spring weather he was back in his sleeveless tunic, muscled arms exposed to the air.

“Surprise!” he said, coming forward and placing a hand on her shoulder to greet her. “Look at you, may I?”

He asked, pointing to her round tummy. Unlike many people who wanted to touch her pregnant stomach, he actually waited for her acquiescing nod before doing so. Gentle pale fingers splayed across either side of it.

“How?” she asked, still stunned.

Teb laughed, looking up from his own hands. “Well, as it turns out, I still have a Mark of a Seeker that has never been taken from me,” he said, with a sly smile.

Aloy laughed, shaking her head. “It's so good to see you,” she said. Before she realized it she was hugging him, awkwardly over her pregnant belly, his hands sliding to hug her back

Erend was standing by watching this looking proud of himself, arms crossed over his chest, a warm smile on his face.

Somehow, the party was suddenly not a thing to be feared at all. Teb hung nearby with Erend as Aloy was greeted in turn by guests. The table in the center of the sitting room was heaped with gifts, and after a while she was ushered to sit adjacent to this. Avad had already taken his seat in the high backed chair.

Aloy could have counted the number of genuine gifts she'd been given in her life on one hand, and yet here there were dozens. Packed in shiny decorative bags, wrapped in floral papers. It was over whelming, especially when she realized she was meant to open them all in front of the assembled guests, who had filed in around the table.

Erend had sat her down in the center seat in a cushioned bench, Teb to one side and sitting himself on the other, a hand on the small of Aloy’s back. Anehita was playing hostess, and began handing over gifts to be unwrapped.

The first was a mobile from Vanasha to hang over the crib, dangling from it were tiny models of Glinthawks and Stormbirds. Next was a set of tiny leather shoes from Levi the Oseram stitcher who made all the Vanguard armor.

Gift after gift she opened, thanking people in turn. Anehita and Brant had gotten her a bassinet for the living room, woven out of some sort of wicker. Avad had to have his gift brought in from another room, a wooden rocking chair for the nursery.

Teb had not brought one gift but many. He'd apparently been busy stitching baby clothes since the moment she had left. He'd also made a sling for her to carry the newborn in diagonally across her, made of leather, and bedclothes for the crib.

“This is too much, Teb,” she said, as she folded the beautifully quilted baby blanket back. Anehita took it from her, as she had been taking all the gifts in order to pack them up for the couple to take home.

“Don't be silly,” he said. “How often does your best friend have a baby! This last part though is not from me.”

Anehita had just handed Aloy a slightly squashy package wrapped in roughly hewn brown paper. Aloy ripped one end, toppling into her lap a circular leather disk, embroidered with the symbol of a Seeker.

“I don't understand,” Aloy said, lifting it into gentle fingers.

“It's from Teersa,” Teb said. “She wanted me to remind you that you have one of your own, and to tell you that this one, is for the baby. So that you can come and go from the Motherland, if you wanted to that is, with the child. She also said that should you want to name the baby in the Nora tradition, she would be glad to oversee the ceremony.”

Tears were flowing down Aloy’s cheeks, Erend slid his arm over her shoulders. “But… I thought…”

The last time Aloy had spoken to Teersa, it hadn't gone well. In fact it had gone so not well, that up until this very moment, Aloy had been convinced she'd been outcast again.

“She also sends her apologies, for pushing you the way she did, to get you to leave,” Teb said in a quiet voice.

Blissfully, as this had been the last batch of gifts, many of the guests had returned to their mingling, leaving only Aloy’s closest circle remaining around her. Brant and Anehita, Avad, Teb, Erend, and Marad.

“Wait, she wanted us to leave?” Erend asked, voicing the confusion Aloy felt. Then something seemed to click.

Aloy let out a sniffling laugh, wiping what was left of her tears from her face. “Of course, it all makes sense now,” she said, tucking the circular mark into the pocket that sat along the seam of her dress, not wanting to let it go from her.

“It does?” Brant asked, scratching his head.

“Teersa knows me pretty well,” Aloy said. “If she hadn't…, I would have tried to stay longer. To repair the damage from the battle. She knew I would feel it was my responsibility to help recovery efforts again. Even injured as I was.”

Teb was nodding slowly. “So she drove you away,” he said. “It took me a month to figure it out, and she'd never confirm. That is, until I went to inform her I was coming to see you.”

—————-

Erend was fairly pleased with how well the party had gone so far. Aloy was now chatting away with Teb and Talanah, who had met each other during preparations for the battle at the Spire. He'd finally felt she was relaxed enough at the gathering for him to leave her side, so he went to the food table and snacked on some sliced cheese and fruit.

“So, how did it go?” Brant asked, falling in at the captain’s shoulder.

“She loved the crib,” Erend answered, after swallowing a mouth full of food. “Cried a little when she saw Rost’s familial symbol.”

“You know damn well that isn't what I meant,” Brant said under his breath.

Erend chuckled, popping a grape into his mouth and eating it before answering. “We’re engaged,” he said, simply.

Brant let out a whoop that made others turn to look at them, Erend shushed him. “Cmon, Cap,” Brant said. “That’s good news!”

“What’s good news?”

The King had risen from his high backed chair, and drifted to the table unbeknownst to the two Vanguard. Erend was quickly losing control of the situation, and he wasn't sure if Aloy wanted a big deal made of it.

Actually he was leaning more towards her NOT wanting a big deal made of it.

“I'm not sure if we were going to announce tonight,” Erend said, glancing over his shoulder to Aloy. Talanah was bent over her belly, touching it. “But…”

Erend wanted to tell him. Wanted to tell his King, his boss, his friend. Avad was sipping a glass of wine, peering at Erend curiously overtop of the brim, waiting.

“I asked Aloy to marry me,” Erend said. “And she said yes.”

The King’s face lit up, and he sat down the glass to pull Erend into a surprisingly firm hug. “Brother, I am so happy for you,” Avad said. “I know how much it will mean to you to be able to call Aloy your wife.”

Erend didn't know what to say to this, as the King released him, giving him one last friendly pat on the shoulder before drifting off from the two Vanguard. He turned back to Brant, about to plead with him to keep his mouth shut on the matter until Aloy was ready to formally announce their engagement, only to find Brant completely distracted.

“Fire and spit,” he murmured, staring off in the direction of the sitting room door. “Did you know?”

Looking around, having no clue what his friend was on about, Erend’s eyes fell upon the woman stepping into the sitting room door. Just as tall and as blond as he remembered, Zahra stepped into the party with confidence and without hesitation.

She was also, very clearly, pregnant.

Erend stared, she was wearing the sort of maternity clothing he was used to, a leather apron of sorts with ties that could be loosened as the baby grew, overtop of striped yellow skirt made of material much like the shirts the Vanguard wore. Her belly wasn't quite as big as Aloy’s but she couldn't have been but so far behind her.

“You don't think…” Erend began to ask, trailing off as Aloy had just spotted Zahra herself.

“Only one way to find out,” Brant murmured, waving Erend forward and wading through other guests to reach Aloy just as Zahra did.

Aloy stared at Zahra’s pregnant belly, eyes wide in surprise.

“I apologize for my tardiness,” Zahra said. “Trip took a bit longer with this than I anticipated.” She ran a pale hand down the leather stretched over her tummy as she spoke.

“How far along are you?” Aloy asked.

Erend knew the real question, knew Aloy was trying to ascertain the answer without directly asking.

“You already know,” Zahra said. “I'm as far along as there have been weeks since the battle in the Embrace.”

“So… the baby is Elof’s?” Aloy asked in a small voice.

Zahra nodded wordlessly. Elrick appeared at her side, Erend had not seen him arriving with her, and upon seeing she was getting upset, he placed a comforting arm around her back.

Elrick, Elof’s brother, had been on the verge of coming to Meridian to join the Vanguard. He had all but decided after Elof’s funeral, but a couple months later, a letter had arrived stating that he simply couldn't leave the Ealdormen “at this time”.

Suddenly Erend knew exactly why.

Aloy had reached forward, taking Zahra’s hands in hers. “Come,” she said in a cracking voice, her eyes glassy. “Sit with me. We’ll talk.”

Elrick looked unsure, but Zahra patted his hand on her shoulder, and he released her. Erend stood at Elrick’s shoulder and they watched the two pregnant women settle in on a cushioned sofa.

Erend rounded on Elrick. “Why didn't you tell me?” he asked. “Elof’s baby. ELOF’s baby.”

“Lower your voice,” Elrick growled, hooking the Captain by the arm and leading him out of the sitting room door, away from the chatter of the guests. They walked down to the landing, the same landing Erend had asked him to join the Vanguard on.

Erend wrenched his arm free, turning to stare down the man before him. Elrick looked tired. More tired and worn than he had looked at Elof’s funeral. His long hair was tied back, and slightly mussed from the journey.

“Look, it wasn't my secret to tell,” Elrick said, in answer to Erend’s stare.

“Why is it even a secret?” Erend asked.

“You know Oseram politics,” Elrick said, turning to look out on the city, leaning on the marble railing. The sun beat down on them, warm and bright. “An Ealdorwoman having a child out of wedlock. The child of an Oseram who left the Claim to serve another tribe? Imagine the response.”

Erend chewed the inside of his cheek, reminding himself that this was the brother of said Oseram and that he was speaking of the rest of the tribe’s feelings in the matter, not his own.

“Zahra and I are married,” Elrick said, when Erend didn't speak again.

“What?!?” Erend gripped the carved stone railing, staring at the side of Elrick’s face as the man refused to look over, continuing to stare out at the city.

“We did a quiet ceremony,” Elrick said. “Quiet enough to fudge the date. Everyone in the Claim believes we married in secret before she left to find Dervahl. They believe the child is mine.”

Erend’s mind was racing, attempting to keep up.

“You married Zahra?” he asked. “Just like that. What about you? What if you meet a woman? Fall in love? You're willing to sacrifice finding someone for yourself to-“

“Erend, I'm gay,” Elrick interrupted, finally turning to look the Vanguard captain in the eye.

“Oh.”

“It's for the best,” Elrick said, shaking his head. “I could never be me in the Claim anyway. I might as well not be me and do this for Elof.”

Silence fell over them, and Erend let it, the two men stood quietly looking out on the city, the weight of it all hanging on their shoulders. They remained like this for a long while, until Elrick seemed to remember.

“I did bring what you asked,” he said, pulling a small drawstring pouch from his pocket and pressing it into Erend’s hand.

Erend untied the tie, and tipped the pouch so that two steel rings fell out into his palm.

“Forged in the main forge of your clan, as is tradition,” Elrick said.

One was distinctly smaller than the other, and Erend smiled at the idea of sliding it onto Aloy’s finger. “Thank you,” he said, as he slid them back into their pouch, cinching it before stowing it away.

“Any idea when the wedding will be?” Elrick asked. “Not sure if we can attend, but if we can I'm sure Zahra would like to be there.”

“Not sure yet,” Erend said. “Aloy may want to wait until after the baby is born, truth is I only just asked her today when I presented the baby’s crib.”

“Think you waited long enough?” Elrick joked, and for a moment Erend thought he could hear Elof laughing at this.

“What can I say, I like doing things very out of order,” Erend answered, laughing with Elrick. “We better get back.” Erend nodded over his shoulder back the way they had come, and together the two men climbed the marble stairs to return to the baby shower.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *chews fingernails nervously*
> 
> I debated a lot about Zahra. A lot. A LOT a lot. But in the end, here we are. 
> 
> NaNoWriMo is officially over, so expect a better update schedule over here on this fic. You WILL see the second half of the baby shower this week. 
> 
> Even if I have found switching gears between two very different versions of Aloy and Erend is... tricky. Yeah let's go with tricky. XD
> 
> Thanks so much for reading.


	8. The "Baby Shower" (Pt. 2)

At first, Aloy couldn’t for the life of her think of what to say. She watched Zahra fidget to get comfortable on the lushly upholstered sofa, and felt a new appreciation for how she must look doing the same. Aloy couldn’t keep her eyes off of the leather clad belly, still reeling.

“It’s probably rude of me to show up to your baby shower and surprise you with this,” Zahra said. “I wrote maybe five letters to tell you and Erend, but somehow could never bring myself to send them.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Aloy said, shaking her head. “You’ve got enough to worry about, clearly.” As she said this, Aloy reached out and placed a hand on the top curve of Zahra’s pregnant stomach.

Zahra covered it with her own, and for a moment they sat in silence.

“How long after you got back to the Claim did you realize?” Aloy asked, bringing her eyes up to Zahra’s face. The Oseram woman didn’t look up, staring at their joined hands.

“About a month,” Zahra answered. “At first, I thought I was just late, you know. Then the nausea came, and I remembered your nausea and… it clicked.”

Aloy’s heart ached imagining Zahra figuring this out alone, in the Claim, the father of her child already gone from this earth.

“I’m so sorry that you have to do this without Elof,” Aloy said, squeezing Zahra’s hand. Guilt was creeping upon the Nora huntress, Elof’s death was HER fault, and now a child was coming into this world without a father.

“It’s not so bad,” Zahra said, finally looking up from her own belly, tossing her thick blond braid over her shoulder. “Elrick and his mother have been a great help. Modir is thrilled, had always wanted grand-kids I guess.”

“I take it that’s why Elrick decided not to come join the Vanguard?” Aloy asked.

Zahra’s face fell instantly, making Aloy almost regret asking. Erend and Elrick had actually just returned through the sitting room door, Erend’s face showed sadness as his eyes met with Aloy’s through the crowd of guests.

The happy bubble inside Aloy felt like it had a puncture. The weight of this revelation bringing her down from earlier. That shimmering moment in the nursery when Erend had proposed felt like it had been days ago, not hours.

“Elrick insisted,” Zahra said, drawing Aloy’s attention back to her. “Said he couldn’t live with himself otherwise. I tried to refuse but…”

“He’s a good brother,” Aloy said.

Silence again, then Zahra added. “And a good husband.”

It was only then that Aloy noticed the ring, a smooth shiny steel band across Zahra’s left ring finger. She was avoiding Aloy’s eyes, looking instead to their side by side pregnant tummies.

“You married Elof’s brother?” Aloy asked in a whisper, leaning in and causing their bellies to bump together.

“As I said, I tried to refuse…”

Aloy began to cry. She hadn’t seen it coming, but as she realized how many lives were forever changed by a decision she had made in the heart of a battle, she lost it. Soon Zahra was crying to, and they were hugging in an awkward sideways fashion, silk sliding against leather.

—————-

Erend had to try very hard not to interrupt Aloy’s conversation with Zahra, particularly once the crying had started. Zahra had already waved Elrick away when he’d gone to check on the pair of pregnant women, and Erend expected Aloy was likely to do the same should he try.

So when Brant had pulled him back aside to talk further about the engagement, the captain had allowed it, even when it broke his line of sight to Aloy. Anehita was with them also, looking very much like she wanted to interrupt the girls’ conversation herself, that is until Brant began to speak.

“So have you thought about when the wedding might be?” he asked.

Anehita whipped around so fast she smacked Brant in the face with her wavy brown hair. Erend ignored this, as well as Brant’s sputtering as some of her mane went into his mouth

“You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t push to have the ceremony in secret,” Erend joked. “Might just show up one day married. I apologize in advance.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Anehita hissed, advancing on him until his back ended up bumping the refreshment table.

Brant eased an arm around her, tightening it over her bare shoulders and gently pulling her back from Erend. She was wearing a strapless dress of light blue silk, and looked quite nice with her curls falling over her olive toned shoulders.

“Easy Annie,” he said in a soothing voice, as he pinned her to his side under his arm. “I think you're threatening the wrong one here.”

“When did you even propose? I can't believe she hasn't told me!” Anehita’s voice cracked a little, still being held firmly by her boyfriend.

“You proposed?”

Erend let out a groan, as suddenly Teb had joined the little group at the food tables. “And now I'm dead because I'm sure she wanted to be the one to tell ALL of you,” Erend joked. “So someone just shoot me now.”

The group around him merely laughed at this. Teb fell into the circle at Erend’s right elbow, eyebrows arched behind the blue tattoo on the Nora’s face. It was a silent question that was echoed on Anehita’s eyes as well.

“It just happened today,” Erend said, “Literally right before the party.”

“You didn't ask until today?” Elrick was back, rounding out the group, wedging in between Teb and Anehita. “You sent the letter requesting the rings months ago.”

“You have rings?!?” Anehita’s voice was at a pitch it was nearly earsplitting.

Erend couldn't help himself, he fished the little drawstring pouch back out of his pocket, tilting the shining rings into his palm to show his friends. Their excitement was reigniting his own, and he enjoyed watching them all gather to look down at the meticulously forged steel circles.

“Oseram steel,” Brant said, picking up the biggest which would be Erend’s and examining it. This wasn't a question, the Vanguard had recognized the craftsmanship. “I had no idea how much you cared about tradition, Cap. First the crib, now the rings.”

  
Erend chuckled, watching as Brant pressed the ring back into his palm alongside the smaller one meant for Aloy. He was about to say how he'd surprised even himself wanting to cling to the old Oseram traditions, but before he has a chance Aloy’s voice rang over the group.

“What are we all looking at?”

The group parted in front of him, straightening up and turning like one multi-headed beast. Aloy was puffy eyed, though it looked like she was done actively crying. She had both her hands on her dome of a belly as she stepped into the circle.

Erend swallowed, then decided there was no point beating around the bush. “Our wedding rings, actually,” he said. Her eyes were already on the rings, wide and surprised, and with a touch of redness to them.

“You told everyone without me?” Aloy asked, head popping up, frowning.

Every single one of their friends ground into motion at once, scattering like bugs in every direction. Some, like Elrick, made excuses as they went. “I better go check on Zahra.” Others like Teb merely turned back to the food table and sidled slowly away in silence.

Until they left Erend alone facing his irate fiancé. Aloy had a hand on her hip, and a frown on her lips as she stared up at him. He closed his fingers over the rings, and reached his other hand out to touch her silken tummy.

“It was an accident,” he said, stepping as close to her as he could, the domed plate on his armor meeting with the silk dress. “I'm just excited is all.”

“You couldn't have at least let me tell Teb?” she asked incredulously. Erend tried to ignore the slight nod of the Nora brave’s head at the refreshment table as he heard her say his name.

“He overheard, I didn't actually directly tell anyone but Brant.” Erend rubbed slow soothing circles over her pregnant belly, she was looking at his hand instead of him, and he was looking at how her brows were furrowed.

“You… you already have wedding rings?”

Erend could feel the tension and initial annoyance she’d stormed in with ebbing. Aloy’s eyes shone with curiosity not annoyance when she looked up into his after asking this.

“Yes, I actually wrote to Elrick about it a while back because I knew it would take a bit,” Erend placed his hand palm up on top of her belly and opened his fingers to reveal the two steel wedding bands. “From the main forge of my clan in the Claim.”

Aloy lifted his in her thin fingers, turning it over. Then she was crying again and Erend had to be careful not to lose either ring as he rushed to pull her into a comforting hug.

“I'm sorry, I know I'm an emotional mess right now,” she sniffed against his scarf. She was gripping it, his oversized ring looped on her thumb.

“It's alright you're allowed to be,” Erend assured her, one hand rubbing the side of her stomach gently. “Comes with the territory of carrying our baby.”

“We should just do it,” she said in a sniffling voice.

Erend blinked, unsure what she meant as she gently disentangled herself from his arms, returning the ring to him. “We should just do what?” he asked, placing the rings back into their little pouch for safe keeping.

“Get married,” Aloy said, as if his was obvious. “Why wait? Everyone is here. Even Teb. We could just-“

“Wait, you want to get married TODAY?” Erend asked, nearly missing his own pocket as he went to stow the pouch away.

“Why not? Surely someone here could perform a wedding,” Aloy said. She had gone from upset and crying to looking excitedly determined.

“Today,” Erend repeated, his brain attempting to keep up.

Aloy was waving Anehita over, and Erend had to remind himself to breath. He wanted to marry Aloy more than anything in the world, and now it looked like she wanted it so badly she didn't want to wait. His heart felt like it might just burst at the seams.

“What, what is it? What’s wrong?” Anehita had misread Aloy’s frantic summons, wedging herself between the couple, healing hands coming to feel Aloy’s tummy.

“No, nothing like that,” Aloy insisted. “If Erend and I wanted to get married here, today could we make it happen.”

“Wait, today?” Brant asked incredulously, having trailed his way over behind Anehita.

The girls were already discussing. “I'm sure the King could perform the ceremony himself, or Marad,” Anehita was saying. “You already have rings. That dress is appropriately beautiful. You could do this today. Ooh, if we hurry we can have the ceremony at sunset out on the top terrace.”

Erend found his voice. “Alright alright, slow down there,” he said, stepping in. “We are not getting married at sunset.”

Anehita made to argue, but he held up a hand, and she ceased allowing Brant to tug her against him. Aloy stepped forward, eyes searching his face. “You don't want to do it today,” she said.

“Oh I do,” he said. “But we aren't getting married at sunset on the top terrace.” Erend shook his head, brushing hair back from her face. “We are going to wait until nightfall and get married under the moon down on our landing.”

“Yes,” Aloy said emphatically. “Yes, perfect.” She rose on her toes to kiss him, sandwiching her tummy between them, her fingers brushing through the hair that grew along his jaw.

“Alright, save that for after the vows,” Brant said. “We have to go see about an officiant, and I'm sure Annie will take care of your beautiful bride until it's time.”

Erend took one last look at Aloy, as they were parted from each other. She smiled back at him, then ushered Teb to follow her and Anehita.

—————-

“Sun is setting,” Anehita said, as she reentered the room that Avad had granted them use of for wedding preparations. Though so far that had just been a nap for the pregnant bride. “Everything is falling into place. The King himself is going to officiate.”

Aloy was touched and surprised by this, she stretched her back as she sat up. Teb entered behind Anehita, carrying a small plate of fruit and a glass of water for Aloy.

“You'll need someone to walk you down to Erend,” Anehita said, sitting next to Aloy on the chaise as she ate. “Traditionally it's usually the father of the bride’s roll but I know…” She trailed off realizing this could be upsetting to Aloy.

For a moment she thought of Rost in the Sun-Palace to walk with her in a Carja wedding to an Oseram man. The image was ludicrous enough not to upset her.

“Teb can do it,” Aloy said, deciding on the spot.

Teb looked flustered, he had just taken a seat in a chair across from them, nearly missing the cushion as she said this. He didn't have a chance to say yes or no before Anehita had already taken this for a final decision.

“Excellent then,” she said. “We have everyone we need. You just relax a little while longer and I'll come for you when it's time.”

The midwife was gone again in a flash of her silk dress.

Aloy set to eating the rest of the fruit from her plate. Teb came across to take Anehita’s seat.

“You sure it should be me to walk you?” Teb asked.

“Who else here is like family to me?” Aloy asked between bites. Teb looked touched, and they fell into a comfortable silence as she finished eating. “I hope Erend is doing okay. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't suddenly nervous.”

Teb snaked an arm around her back, giving her a sideways squeeze. “I'm sure he's a nervous wreck in the best way,” Teb said.

Time seemed to crawl as they waited. Aloy fussed with her hair in one of the mirrors, and fidgeted with the tie on her dress undoing it and tying it more neatly. After what felt like an eternity Anehita returned.

“It's time.”

Teb extended his elbow to her, and she looped her arm into it, allowing herself to be whisked out the door and up the stairs back into the sitting room. They waited here a bit longer as Anehita went out the door, arm linked with Brant. Then Itamen was half pushed out by his mother, who then hovered at the back of the gathered guests as he half ran down the isle formed by people lining either side of the stairs down to the landing.

“Ready?” Teb asked.

Aloy took a deep breath, smiling at her best friend. “I am,” she said, nodding.

He took two steps, then stopped abruptly. “Wait,” he breathed, breaking free of her arm and going to a side table in the sitting room where there was a floral arrangement. He plucked some orange flowers from it, bundling them together and returning to her, pressing them into her left hand before offering his arm back to her. “Now we’re ready.”

Aloy gripped the stems of the flowers, and they exited the sitting room arm in arm. Every head turned, as he walked her down the stairs slowly, which was a good thing because with the pregnant belly she couldn't see her own feet. There were guests down the next set of stairs also, but she could only spare them a glance before her eyes locked upon Erend.

He had changed out of his Vanguard uniform and into one of his solid silk shirts, today one she had never seen before, in Nora blue. He was smiling broadly, he placed a hand over his heart when he saw her.

The King stood with his back to the rail, behind him Meridian sprawled out, sparkling in the moonlight. Erend stepped forward, as Teb gently slid his arm from Aloy’s, leaning in and placing a kiss on her cheek before falling back into the front row of guests next to Elrick and Zahra.

Aloy’s fingers wove between Erend’s, as they turned to face each other.

“Beloved friends, tonight we gather to bear witness to the union of Aloy of the Nora, and Erend of the Oseram,” Avad began to speak, projecting his voice out to the guests. “In the bonds of marriage.”

Aloy made a face at the word bonds and Erend stifled a chuckle. Behind him Brant was gripping young Itamen’s shoulder to keep him up at the front. The King spoke more on love, and marriage. As he did Erend reached out and slid a hand onto the side of her tummy, beneath it the baby slowly began to wake. She could feel it rolling over, and based on the way Erend’s eyes lit up he could feel it too.

“Today, as a symbol of their love, the couple will exchange rings forged of Oseram steel,” Avad said.

Brant released Itamen, who bounced forward, holding a small pillow over his head, tied to it were the wedding bands. Erend untied the ribbon and the moment he had the rings the boy set off down the isle again and into his mother’s waiting arms.

Erend passed Aloy the larger ring. She handed off the flowers she was holding to Anehita who was already glassy eyed. Aloy was meant to go first and suddenly she wished she wasn't. All the things she'd had in her head to say seemed to have left her. He met her eyes with a steady warmth, as she found the correct finger in his left hand, and slid the ring on.

Instead of letting it drop, he rested it on her belly, where the baby kicked it.

“Erend, once on this very spot I promised you two minutes of my time.” Erend grinned at this, his hand moving gently over the silk, enjoying the feeling of the baby moving around beneath it. “Now I promise you all of the minutes. For the rest of my life. I love you.”

Short sweet and to the point, she thought as he scooped up her left hand and delicately slid the steel loop onto her finger. The ring somehow fit perfectly, she had no idea how he could have managed this.

“Aloy, I have been in love with you since that moment you promised me those two minutes,” he said, and they both laughed, hands now entwined and pressed against her belly together. The baby was more awake and alive than it had been all day, as if aware of what was happening. Their family cementing around it. “I couldn't believe my luck then and I can hardly believe it now. I promise I will spend the rest of my life keeping you and our child happy, healthy, and safe. It's the least I can do because you've made me the luckiest man in the world. I love you.”

Together they turned to Avad, who had a wistful smile on his face, eyes shining. “It is my honor, to pronounce you husband and wife. Captain, you may kiss your bride.”

Erend apparently didn't need to be told twice, he hunched his shoulders, bending to kiss her, one hand remaining to feel the baby moving, the other coming up to brush fingers through her hair.

They'd done it. They were married. The assembled guests began to clap and cheer, as they couple embraced under the light of the half moon. Aloy couldn't say for sure if she'd ever been happier than she was in that moment, looking up into Erend’s eyes, their child kicking beneath their hands.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dabs at eyes with a tissue*
> 
> I love y'all. Thanks for reading.
> 
> (PS for half this week I couldn't type on a keyboard due to a finger injury. This was written mostly on my phone.)


	9. The Craving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To read the explicit scene that takes place between last chapter and this one visit [The Dirty Bits: After the Wedding](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10966968/chapters/30196545)

For some reason, Aloy was craving boar’s head stew. She wasn’t sure why, or when exactly it had started. Perhaps when she’d caught a whiff of boar cooking on a spit in a pub adjacent to the market.

All she knew was now that she wanted it, nothing else seemed at all appetizing to her.

The problem was that boar’s head stew was a decidedly Nora dish, and significantly heavier than any cuisine she’d seen in the Sundom. Carja food was lighter than the type of food she’d grown up on, likely thanks to a warmer climate. The Motherland being colder, their fare tended to be heartier.

Aloy hadn’t paid too much attention to the food differences before, but as she unpacked the groceries from the market she couldn’t think of a single comparable dish to the thing she wanted. Especially this far into Spring, when even in Nora lands they’d be dropping the stew as a regular meal until the Fall months.

Not that knowing any of this stopped her from craving it. Though the knowledge did keep her from telling Erend upon his arrival home that she wanted - no, needed - boar’s head stew.

Erend greeted her in the usual manner. First with a kiss on the lips, then bending to place a kiss on her silk clad belly.

“How are my two ladies today?” he asked, as he straightened up.

Her husband had taken to referring to their unborn child as female despite the fact they currently had no idea of the baby’s gender.

“Are you hoping if you keep saying that it will make it so?” Aloy asked, smirking up at him from her position on the sofa.

“Or I’m just that confident she’s a girl,” Erend said, his hand rubbed a slow circular motion over the silken curve of her belly. “Hopefully with red hair like yours, that I’ll be terrible at braiding.”

"You know, I'm surprised you wouldn't rather a boy," Aloy said, hefting herself up off the couch to follow him into the bedroom. Though she had to admit the image of Erend attempting to fashion a little girl's hair was both endearing and amusing.

"Well, I had an older sister, and honestly can't imagine not having one," Erend said, as he began to undo the fastenings on his armor to remove it. "Our second one can be a boy."

Aloy blinked, freezing in the doorway. "Second one?!?"

Erend continued to undress, laughing at the sound of slight indignation in her voice. “Yeah, you don't think you'd want a second one?” he asked, as the armored flaps came free from around his waist, circular steel plates scraping the floor momentarily before he hung them up. “A couple years apart maybe.”

Aloy leaned on the doorframe. She looked down at her left hand where it rest atop her tummy, thumbing her steel wedding ring and spinning it on her finger. “How about we finish making this one before we talk about making more?” Aloy said.

The truth was Aloy had never seen herself settling down and having a single child, the idea of having a second had never crossed her mind. At the same time, seeing Erend excited about becoming a growing family tugged at her heartstrings in ways she couldn't put well into words.

“That's fair.” Erend was done dressing down, and came to her where she remained lurking in the doorway. “Especially as I know just how much work you're putting in to making this one.”

Erend slid his palms onto either side of her domed belly, fingertips rippling the pleats of her silk maternity dress. Aloy couldn't help but smile, as he bent low and kissed her belly again, his hands moving gently.

“Everytime!” Aloy exclaimed, as a kick then another answered Erend from within her womb. The baby had woken up when it felt Erend’s gentle attentions.

“That's my girl,” he whispered to her belly button area, before straightening up, a broad smiled framed behind his mustache and chops.

Erend slid past her in the door, making his way to the kitchen to begin prep for dinner. Aloy followed, happy to have him home. The later in her pregnancy she got, the less she found herself venturing out during the day while he was on duty. Aside from the occasional market trip, she spent more time than she liked sitting at home waiting for him to return.

Though, at just over seven months pregnant, sitting was one of the few things she could do with out ending up exhausted after.

“How disappointed will you be if, after all your insistence, we end up having a boy?” Aloy asked, leaning on the counter and watching as he pulled out the cutting board and began chopping vegetables.

“As long as the baby is healthy, I will not be disappointed in the least,” Erend assured her.

This was, of course, the correct answer. As was evident to Aloy by the content warmth that spread through her at the words. She looked down at her own pregnant belly, the baby was still up and squirming, her hands spread wide over the silk to absorb as much of the sensation as she could.

“You know, if you’d have cooperated with the gender test we would know if it was a boy or a girl by now,” Erend said, sneaking furtive sideways glances at her as he chopped.

Aloy rolled her eyes. “You mean because I refused to pee on those seeds?” she asked, remembering the suggested test. According to the Oseram, a woman’s urine over wheat and barley seeds could be used to determine if she was pregnant and what the gender of the child was. Something about if the seeds sprouted and which variety sprouted more, but the whole idea sounded weird to Aloy.

Erend simply laughed, still cutting up a pepper. “It's fine, we will find out the good old fashioned way in a couple months,” he said.

A couple months! The thought both thrilled and terrified Aloy. It seemed to have gone by so fast, weeks blurring to months, somehow it felt like just yesterday she's been blindsided in the market by the clerk who noticed her then tiny baby bump.

She left Erend to his cooking, lounging on the sofa as she usually did, enjoying his whistling. He was making a turkey stir fry that was a common meal at their home, but as she smelled it cooking it only reminded her how badly she’d wanted the boar’s head stew.

—————-

Erend continued cooking, sneaking looks over his shoulder to where his beautiful wife had settled into the silk pillows of the sofa. He very much enjoyed their evening routine. No matter how long the day of duty was, coming home to spend his evening with Aloy always put work from his mind.

He could have made the stir fry in his sleep, as it was one of Aloy’s favorites as well as his own, and was a staple in their meal rotations. As a result he was from prep to plating in no time, doling the savory mix of sliced turkey and vegetables out.

“Dinner is served, Moonflower,” Erend called, as he set two plates on the table, then turned to get glasses and a jug of water from the cupboard.

Aloy roused herself from the sofa, making huffing noises with the effort. He almost felt guilty for how adorable he found her in her pregnant state. The way she waddled from the living room, her hand on her back, her domed belly protruding out in front of her, was an endearing sight.

Erend pulled the chair out for her, and saw to it she was seated before sitting himself. He poured them both some water as she began to eat, a small frown on her face.

Wondering if perhaps it didn't taste right, he speared a couple veggies and a piece of meat on his fork and popped it in his mouth. It tasted just as it always did, but Aloy still seemed displeased with it, pushing hers around on the plate making huffing noises not all that different than when she'd been trying to stand up from the couch.

“Everything okay?” he asked, involuntarily raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Aloy said, literally waving him off with one hand, the other still using her utensil to rearrange the plate. She looked down at it almost sadly. “It's silly.”

Erend had learned a long time ago that ‘it’s silly’ or it's synonymous phrases such as ‘it’s fine’ or ‘it’s nothing’ were pregnant Aloy code words for when something was the opposite.

“Well, silly or not, why don't you tell me anyway?” Erend tried, going back to eating. He dropped his eyes from her, knowing she’d speak again when she was ready.

She ate a bite to his five or six bites, then she returned to her meticulous rearrangement of the vegetables on her plate. “I feel bad, you made this lovely meal, that's usually my favorite,” Aloy said, shaking her head as if she didn't fully understand herself. “And all I can think about is how badly I want boar’s head stew.”

Erend blinked, swallowing the food in his mouth. “Boar’s HEAD stew?”

Aloy nodded, poking a pepper onto her fork and eying it. “Yeah, they cook the whole boar, head and all,” she said, quirking her head to look at him. “It's a Nora thing. I don't know what made me want some, but since I realized it's like nothing else tastes good.”

“Ohhhhhh,” Erend breathed, understanding. Aloy was having a pregnancy craving. He had heard stories of women in late stages of pregnancy having hungers for specific things. He chuckled as he realized. “The baby wants stew, huh?”

Aloy was smiling now, tucking some of her red hair back behind her ear as she looked down at her barely eaten food. “I guess so, I'm sorry. You know I usually love your stir fry,” she said apologetically.

“Hey, I'm not offended,” Erend assured her.

A comfortable silence fell over them. Erend had finished eating, but he sat with her while she slowly made herself to consume the food on her plate. He pondered how he might fulfill this craving she was having.

He thought of the kitchens at the Sun-Palace, where the King employed a number of cooks who made food from differing tribal origins other than just Carja. He'd have to swing by and see if anyone could help him.

“I love you,” Aloy said in a soft voice, when Erend stood to take hers and his empty plates away to the basin.

“I love you too,” he said over his shoulder.

“I hate to ask after being such a melancholy dinner partner but,” Aloy began, then hesitated until he turned back from the basin. “I was wondering if you could rub my back, everything sort of hurts.”

“Of course,” Erend said, happy to have something he could do for her that might improve her evening.

They went to the bedroom and Erend helped her shimmy from her long silk maternity dress and into her night shirt. This was a long sleeveless tunic, made of soft cotton not all that dissimilar to his shirts, which she'd slept in until she was straining the seams on the sides.

Aloy lay herself sideways in the bed, letting out a groan as she tried to get comfortable. Erend waited until she was done fidgeting before sliding into the bed behind her, his arms already outstretched, fingers seeking her shoulders. He massaged her both over and under her sleep clothes, enjoying the way she slowly relaxed beneath his hands.

She was asleep by the time he was done, her arm coiled around her own belly. Erend covered her with the blankets and returned the the main house to do a few things, such as the dishes, before coming to bed himself.

The next morning Erend sent Brant to the morning briefing in his stead, instead sneaking a side way into the bowels of the Sun-Palace to reach the kitchens.

“Boar’s HEAD stew?” The head chef was a snooty looking Carja man, with ornate eye make up and a tall white silk hat that sagged slightly to the back. “No can’t say I've heard of that. But I could make a boar stew. We have boar meat on hand, just no heads.” He wrinkled his lips as if this was disgusting to think of.

“A stew is a stew right?” Erend asked. “I'll take as close as you can get.”

“Stews are a slow cook,” the chef said, as he began going from cupboard to cupboard fetching things. A sack of potatoes. Then some onions. He lined up jars of spices. “Then Nora love their slow cooks, but I can do it. I do enjoy the challenge of a foreign dish.”

This had turned out to be easier than Erend had expected. “On behalf of my pregnant wife, I thank you,” he said. “I better get to work.”

The chef waved him off, already lighting the stove as Erend departed the kitchens. He went straight up to the sitting room, finding as he suspected that the morning muster was still in progress. Brant was standing though, clearly wrapping up to begin rounds.

“Ah, there he is,” Avad said, he gestured from his tall backed chair to indicate that Erend should join them and that Brant should sit again.

Erend hurried forward, sidling onto the bench next to his fellow Vanguard, who for some reason looked annoyed. Erend soon understood exactly why.

“As we were just informing Brant, our relationship with the Oseram, which was already on edge since the Dervahl debacle, has taken a turn for the worse,” Avad said, looking serious. “They've closed their border to trade.”

“What? Completely?” Erend was flabbergasted.

“It seems they don't feel we've done enough to aid in recovery after Dervahl gutted the Skylfing clan,” Marad explained.

Erend rolled his eyes. “As if that is Meridian’s responsibility,” he said.

“Regardless of if their opinion is rooted in valid expectations or not, we must respond,” Avad said. He had crossed one of his legs over the other, an elbow resting on his knee. “Which is why I'm sending both of you and a handful of the Vanguard to Mainspring to negotiate with the Ealdormen.”

A beat of silence followed this, as Erend’s heart sank.

“How long?” was all he could manage.

The King game him a sympathetic look. “Between travel and negotiations… two weeks, no more,” he said. “Better now than in, say, a month I figure. If I thought anyone else could…”

“No, I understand,” Erend said, nodding. He did understand why it should be him, the captain of the Vanguard. “We would leave?”

“At the end of the week,” Marad supplied.

Erend was doing calendar math. Aloy was a week past seven months pregnant. If he left in a few days and then returned two weeks later she would be 8 months pregnant.

One thing was for sure, if it HAD been a month further down the line he wouldn't have been going. As it was he didn't think he could refuse, even if he dreaded telling Aloy.

—————-

Erend was late coming home.

Aloy had expected him to be home before she finished with her bath, especially as long as she had spent soaking in the warm water. Then she thought surely he’d show up while she was dressing, or fixing her hair.

Yet as she tied off the last braid he still wasn't home, the light failing outside as the sun set beneath the horizon.

It wasn't that she was worried about him so much, sure that he likely got held up with something at work, she just was used to their routine. The baby had awoken without the usual ritual of Erend waking it, and Aloy missed it.

She sat up in one of the dining chairs, her hands pressed against the curve of her tummy. “Daddy will be home soon, I'm sure,” Aloy said, rubbing her palms in slow circles.

Aloy pretended the answering kicks were kicks of understanding. She was half considering going to look for him when she heard the door open behind her.

Erend came in carefully carrying a wooden vat of something that was sealed tight with a lid.

“Sorry I'm late,” he murmured as he trod past her to the kitchen counter, carefully setting down his load. “I have a surprise for you.”

The moment he opened the top the room was filled with the delicious smell of stew. Aloy’s mouth watered automatically, her nose sniffing the air.

“It's boar stew, no head,” Erend said lightly, coming to kneel on one knee before her where she sat in the dining chair. He placed his hands on her belly, the baby kicked them, and she watched her husband’s face light up at the sensation. “Hungry little one?” Erend kissed her belly before rising to serve the stew.

“It smells amazing,” Aloy said, scooting her chair to face the table.

“Courtesy of the King’s personal chef,” Erend said, as he placed a heaping full bowl in front of her, then held out a spoon for her to take.

Aloy meant to wait for him to sit down with his, but the moment it was in front of her she dug into it. The meat was tender, falling apart among the sliced carrots, onions and potatoes in a savory broth. It wasn't quite quite exactly like the stews she knew, but it was close enough to tickle all the right taste buds.

Erend was smiling broadly as he slid into his chair across from her, watching her. “Must be good,” he joked, as he set to eating himself.

“It's perfect,” Aloy said, between bites. “It's just what I needed, thank you.”

She returned to eating with gusto, enjoying the warmth the food filled her with, both in nostalgia for her homeland and in the knowledge he'd gone so out of his way to get it for her.

Aloy was so excited by the stew it took her longer than perhaps it should have to realize Erend was distracted. It wasn't until she caught him frowning at a spoonful of stew instead of eating it that she noticed anything was amiss.

“What’s wrong?”

Erend let out a long sigh, setting his utensil back down in the bowl. “I was going to wait until after dinner,” he said. “But… the King needs me to go to the Claim. For two weeks.”

“Two weeks?!?” Aloy let her spoon fall back into her nearly empty bowl with a clatter.

“Believe me, I don't like it anymore than you do,” Erend said, not meeting her eyes.

“I could come with you.”

Erend laughed, and it annoyed her slightly. “Moonflower, if this was a few months ago, I would take you in a heartbeat,” he said. “But it's your third trimester, remember what Anehita said about your third-“

“I remember! Its the time for me to be relaxing, and resting, and preparing for the baby,” Aloy said. “But two weeks without you?”

Erend reached a hand across the table, finding hers where it lie and covering it. “As I said, I don't like it any more than you do.”


	10. The First Days Apart

The morning the Vanguard were set to depart dawned warm and bright, sunlight streaming through the bedroom window much earlier than Aloy would have liked. Erend was still snoring, his face buried somewhere in her hair, his bare chest rising and falling against her back.

Aloy did her best not to wake him, as she pulled the silk covers just a little tighter over their naked bodies. Then she found his hand against the skin of her pregnant belly and twined her fingers between his. She would give anything for them to lie there forever, and never have to face what was to come next.

It had been months and months since they’d spent even a single night apart, and she didn’t want to do it. She’d spent the past few days attempting to convince him to take her with him, even though she knew he never would.

Erend let out a snuffling breath into her hair, his snoring fading as he woke behind her. She tried to pretend she was still sleeping, in hopes of extending their time even for just a couple minutes. His broad hand rubbed against the tight skin on the side of her belly, until the baby awoke also, kicking Aloy hard in the bladder and rendering her attempts to pretend to be asleep a waste.

“Oof,” she groaned. “Our baby treats my bladder like a punching bag.”

Erend let out a sleepy laugh as she slid from the bed to visit the washroom to relieve herself. Aloy was disappointed to find him up and getting dressed when she returned to their bedroom.

“Oh, you're already getting ready?”

“Unfortunately,” Erend returned. “You should probably get dressed to. I mean you could come see me off like that, but the men may find it distracting.”

Aloy was still completely naked, the morning light warming her bare, freckled skin. She might've laughed at this if she wasn’t so dreading saying goodbye. She went to the closet and retrieved one of her silk maternity dresses hanging within to slide on.

They did the rest of their dressing in silence. Aloy shimmied the blue silk dress on over her head, and tied the tie around her above the belly. The baby was still moving, and kicking. Somehow it was making her feel better, even with Erend gone, she wouldn’t be alone after all.

Erend took the time to cook them breakfast, and Aloy tried to enjoy it as she knew it was the last meal they would share together for two weeks. Time seemed to flow by too quickly despite her attempts to savor it, and all too soon they were walking out the front door of their apartment, Erend shouldering a pack that contained what he would need for two weeks before firmly taking her hand in his to lead them through the city.

The Vanguard were departing out of the Eastern gate to take a trail up along the Northern edge of the valley up towards Pitchcliff and the border. What felt like a life time ago, Aloy had said goodbye to Erend here as she left to return to the Motherland after the battle at the Spire.

So much had changed since then, and Aloy knew that this goodbye was sure to be exponentially harder.

Erend left her side to check the men were properly prepared to depart, leaving Aloy to lean against the plinth of the headless statue that stood just inside the entry gate at this end of the mesa. She wasn’t the only one there to bid farewell to a loved one. Many of Erend’s men had lovers or wives there to see them off. Anehita was there, face buried in Brant’s neck as he hugged her to his chest.

“Should be ready to roll in a few minutes,” Erend was saying as he returned to where Aloy stood. Marad was walking with him. The royal advisor greeted Aloy with the slightest of nods before continuing back into the city in the direction of the Sun-Palace.

Aloy brought her eyes up to Erend’s, trying to tamp back the urge to cry as he let his pack rest against the wall next to her. “I’ll be back before you know it,” he assured her, sliding a hand onto her belly. His other came up the curve of her neck as she craned it to kiss him.

“You better not be late,” Aloy said, as he rested his forehead on hers, holding her close against him, or as close as he could with the mound of baby belly between them. Aloy ran a hand through his mohawk, then ran fingers down the hair that grew along his jaw, as if trying to memorize his face.

“I promise you, I’m not staying a moment longer than necessary,” Erend said, before kissing her again. Somewhere, someone cat called them, but he completely ignored this. Instead he lowered himself down onto one knee, putting him eye level with her belly button.

Aloy laughed. “Oh you’re doing this in public now,” she joked.

“Well, I have to say goodbye to the baby too,” he said, without missing a beat. Both of his gloved hands were on the side of her belly, rolling in the motion he always rolled them in. The baby moved in response, kicking and squirming inside the womb.

Tears threatened to well from the edges of her eyes, as she watched Erend lean forward on his knees to place a kiss on the silken curve of her tummy. “The baby and I are really going to miss you,” Aloy said, running her fingers through his hair again.

“I’m going to really miss you both,” he said, then leaning close to her belly button. “Try not to forget about me while I’m gone. And don’t give your mother any trouble.”

Aloy laughed, her belly bouncing slightly, amused at the thought of her unborn child being unruly in his absence. This small moment of humor evaporated quickly as Erend rose again to his feet, nodding as one of his men called out to tell him it was time.

“Please take care of yourself,” Aloy said, tugging slightly on his goldenrod scarf. Erend’s grey eyes bore into hers, one gloved hand coming up to brush hair from her face.

“I will. I promise,” he all but whispered. “I love you, Moonflower.”

“I love you, too.”

Erend kissed her then, one of those kisses that was normally reserved for more private quarters. Aloy clung to him, gripping the straps of his armor as if he might float away from her the moment she released him. Their lips moved in familiar rhythm, their tongues flitting against one another.

Aloy didn’t want it to end. She’d rather kiss him forever, but inevitably he pulled away from her. Shouldering his pack before giving her belly one last rub.

“I’ll see you both soon,” he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“Bye,” Aloy managed, as his hands left her. Erend walked backwards slowly, eyes roving her as if he might never have the chance to see her again.

It made Aloy feel very warm, her cheeks flushing. Then one of the men called out. “Cap, the wife will be here when you get back.”

“Hey! At least he has a wife, you lug,” Brant shouted back from somewhere.

Erend shook his head, an amused smile on his lips, then he finally turned to join his men. Anehita appeared at Aloy’s side, seizing her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. They remained there a long time, watching as the Vanguard departed.

—————-

The journey to Mainspring took nearly three days on foot without machine assistance. On the second night they made camp in a young forest, where trees were regrowing among the stumps of trees that had been chopped down for lumber at some point.

Erend was grateful to get off his feet. Two days of walking had taken a toll. After erecting his tent, he settled in by one of the fire’s they’d built, and fiddled in his pack looking for something.

“How’s it going, Cap?” Brant asked, sinking down to sit by the fire with Erend.

Erend ceased his in depth search with in his pack and gave a noncommittal shrug. “I’m here,” he murmured.

“That’s about what I expected,” Brant said, nodding and leaning back, placing his hands on the ground behind him to look up at the sky through the sparse branches overhead. “Figured if I’m missing Annie as much as I am, its probably three times worse for you.”

Staring momentarily into the dancing flames, Erend let out a long sigh. “What if the baby forgets my voice?”

Brant chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m sure they won’t both forget your voice,” he said, a playful tone to his words.

“I’m not worried about ALOY forgetting my voice,” Erend corrected, digging once more in the pack.

“I wasn’t referring to Aloy.”

Erend stared into the depths of his bag, attempting to suss this out. “But… you said both.”

“I meant both babies,” Brant kept his eyes on the sky as he said this, as if there was no implication to the statement.

“What do you mean both babies?” Erend sputtered, allowing the pack to fall sideways to the ground from where it had been propped up on his folded knee.

“C’mon, Cap, don’t act like you haven’t noticed just how BIG Aloy has gotten,” Brant said, doing a motion with his hand as if outlining a big round belly on himself. “You still think there’s only one baby in there?”

Erend blinked. “What? You think it’s twins?” He was mildly ashamed with the manic way his voice cracked as he asked this. “Don’t you think Anehita would have noticed if Aloy was carrying twins?”

“Sometimes the midwife can’t even tell,” Brant replied.”Remember when Geirbrand’s wife had twins? They didn’t know the second one was coming until she’d finished popping out the first one!”

Words were failing Erend. He actually DID remember when Geirbrand, one of the Vanguard, had his twins but it hadn’t occurred to Erend that this could be the case for Aloy.

Brant was looking fairly pleased with himself, holding back silent laughter to the point he nearly fell sideways to the ground where he sat.

“I can’t tell if you’re serious,” Erend said, when he finally found his voice. “Or if you’re just trying to wind me up.”

“Bit of both really,” Brant said, still barely holding back laughter. “But, seriously Cap, I’ll help build the second crib. You just say the word.”

Clapping his friend on the shoulder as he went, Brant left the fireside after that.

“Twins?” Erend said to the fire, trying to imagine this. He wasn’t sure why the idea struck him as it did. Perhaps because it was twice the baby. Twice the changings. Twice the feedings.

Erend shook himself. As much time as he spent poring over Aloy’s pregnant belly, he felt like he would have realized if there were two babies. Now wasn’t the time to worry about it regardless, he needed to get some sleep.

Finally, he located what he was looking for within his pack, tucking it under his arm so no one could see before retreating into his tent.

Unbeknownst to Aloy, Erend had packed one of her silk wraps that she used over her bare shoulders in the maternity dresses. Once inside his tent he flopped down on the bedroll, and unfolded the shiny blue scarf like article. He let the silk run through his fingers, as he tried to make himself comfortable to sleep.

He wondered how Aloy was doing. Surely she was fine, likely safely curled up in their bed. Erend allowed himself the luxury of pressing his face into the silk scarf. It smelled of her, and if he closed his eyes he could very nearly pretend she was there.

—————-

Erend had been gone for only four days, and yet somehow it had felt so much longer. Aloy had tried to busy herself around the house. She’d put the bedding Teb had stitched in the crib, and filled the little dresser in the nursery with the clothes he'd made, as well as others gifted to her during the shower.

She particularly enjoyed hanging the mobile above the crib, with its little model flying machines suspended from it.

In an effort to keep active in some form, she found herself wandering from the apartment in the early afternoon to walk through the city with no particular destination. She was warm within blocks, the spring sun shining down upon the mesa with a vengeance. But it was nice to be around other people.

“Momma, is she going to have a baby?”

The voice of a small boy caught her ear, and Aloy watched as a Carja woman tugged on a little boy’s hand to keep him moving down the street in the opposite direction. “Yes dear, looks like she’s going to have a baby very soon.”

They were gone before Aloy had a chance to fully take in the word ‘very’ from the statement. She looked down at her swollen belly, and thought about how soon it would be that she’d be giving birth. A little over a month of pregnancy left and she’d become a mother.

“Aloy, I swear you are not this deaf.”

Aloy snapped from her reverie, just inside the arched entry into the marketplace. Anehita was smiling, a bag dangling on her elbow, a hand waving in front of Aloy’s face.

“Deaf and apparently blind,” Aloy said, coming back to herself. “Sorry, I was a million miles away.”

Anehita hummed. “Well, that’s to be expected I suppose,” she said, reaching out a hand and placing it on Aloy’s tummy. “I was actually just thinking of dropping by to check on you, and then I ran right into you.”

It was the first time anyone had touched her belly since Erend had left, and Aloy found it immensely comforting.

“Well, I’m glad you did,” Aloy said.

“Tell you what,” Anehita said. “I am picking up some stuff to cook, how about I just come cook it at your place in a bit for dinner. I could use the company, been lonely without Brant.”

Aloy took in a deep breath and let it out with a long sigh. “That would be great, Annie,” she said. “I’ve been lonely, too. I know it’s only been a few days…”

“Feels like much longer,” Anehita said, giving Aloy a small hug. “I’ll see you in a couple hours then.”

Aloy didn’t see much point in walking after that, so she meandered back to the apartment. She held a stitch in her side as she crested the top of the stairs, clearly having been on her feet a bit too long.

The apartment was blissfully cool, compared to the direct sunlight outside. Aloy opened a couple windows to get a nice cross breeze coming through off the valley, and then went to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water.

It took her a while to cool off, and she spent the better part of an hour lounging on the sofa.

Aloy was just thinking of getting up and having a bath before her dinner guest turned up when the stitch in her side inexplicably returned, only worse.

Sitting up abruptly, her hands coming to her own belly, she realized this was not what she thought it had been. Her sides felt tight, he stomach cramped, and pain shot along the underside of her belly.

Aloy tried to stand, but she couldn’t seem to will it to happen. She curled in on herself among the silk decorative pillows on the sofa. It felt as if her muscles all around her womb were on fire, clenching.

Panic was setting in, and she clutched her belly praying to gods she wasn't sure she even believed in that the baby was okay inside this tense prison. Five weeks early, this couldn’t be labor could it?

It was subsiding, slowly, the muscles loosening. The baby kicked, and Aloy breathed. Anehita would be there soon, she told herself. Everything would be okay, she wouldn’t be alone.

Aloy remained curled on the couch, her arms around her own pregnant tummy, her knees tucked up underneath. The baby was still kicking and moving, and it was helping her come down from her panic.

She wished more than ever that Erend was there. Not that her husband was likely to know what to do, but at least she wouldn’t be alone. A good half hour passed, and she unfolded herself from the sofa. Her friend was due any minute now.

Aloy made it two steps from the couch before it happened again. Starting from her sides until the muscles of her belly felt hard as steel, and stung from the effort of it.

She crumpled back onto the couch as it hit, tears streaming down her cheeks, and panic tightening her chest.

Something was wrong.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to be focusing on WwaV for a bit and letting NtStB simmer for a wee bit. 
> 
> Because. Reasons. 
> 
> Thanks for reading. And a special thanks to my commenters.


	11. The Bump in the Road

Mainspring was just as overcrowded and dirty as Erend remembered. He’d hoped some sort of nostalgia would make his return to the Claim seem less arduous, but the moment his armored boots met with the muddy road that led through the center of the city he knew this had been a misplaced hope.

He’d been in the capital less than a day and already he was ready to leave it again. Spending most of it locked in the council hall being shouted at by red faced Ealdormen certainly hadn’t helped. The captain didn’t have the energy to shout back, his last night of sleep in the tent had been anything but restful.

It was his aching back that made him say yes when Elrick and Zahra offered him the guest bedroom in their home, instead of camping beyond the township wall with his men. He would regret the decision fairly quickly.

Seeing Zahra, now entering her third trimester of pregnancy, somehow sent pangs of loneliness and longing through Erend. He had to actively remind himself not to look too long at her round belly, and certainly not to ask to touch it.

It wouldn’t be the same anyway, he told himself.

Elrick and Zahra’s home was sizable. Their combined income from both working for the council had afforded them such. The kitchen was big, and in the center a mahogany wood table surrounded by high back chairs. Erend had plopped down in one of these, happy to be somewhere quiet and off of his feet.

“So how’s Aloy doing?” Zahra asked, glancing to him over her shoulder where she stood at the stove.

“Good, good,” Erend answered. “She wasn’t pleased I had to come here though, I’ll say that much.”

The Ealdorwoman hummed thoughtfully, stirring the sauce pot with a wooden spoon. It was strange seeing her doing something so domestic. “I can imagine,” she said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Shit, I’m sorry Zahra,” Erend began, realizing suddenly to whom he was speaking: a woman permanently separated from the father of her child by death.

She shook her head, blond braid swinging behind her. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Though, you should be glad its only for a couple weeks.”

Silence fell in the kitchen after that, Erend was tilting his water glass, watching the liquid within slosh from one side to the other, her words weighing heavily upon him. They WERE lucky it was only two weeks. He tried not to think of a timeline in which Aloy or himself hadn’t made it out of the battle that had claimed Elof’s life.

Elrick came into the kitchen, arms full of linens to be cleaned. He heaped them into a hamper in the corner before turning to address Erend. “Spare bedroom is all ready for you,” he said. “I went ahead and took the liberty of taking your pack up.”

Erend was tempted to take this cue and escape to the privacy of his room, but he knew it would be rude to skip out on dinner.

“Thank you,” he managed, watching as Elrick joined Zahra at the stove, a hand coming to her back.

It was strange to think of the fact the pair were married now, Elrick voluntarily stepping into the responsibilities that should have been his brother’s.

“So when you get back, how far along will Aloy be?” Elrick asked, scooping pasta noodles into a bowl and then holding it out to his wife to spoon sauce over.

“Just at eight months,” Erend answered, taking the full bowl that was offered to him, and setting it before him on the table.

“Getting close then,” Elrick said kindly. “We’ll be about a month behind you I believe.”

Erend couldn’t think of anything to say to this. The way Elrick said ‘we’ tore at Erend’s heart a little bit. Elrick had fully embraced his role. The ‘us’ and ‘we’ verbiage had been plentiful and somehow despite the fact the marriage was not romantic in nature, it was not devoid of affection and caring.

“Have you all found out if it’s a boy or a girl?” Elrick asked, as he slid a chair out for Zahra to sit.

Erend laughed for the first time since he left Meridian. “No, couldn’t convince Aloy to consent to the test,” he answered. “Seemed to find it weird.”

Zahra was twirling noodles around her utensil in her bowl. “As weird as the Nora are you couldn’t get her to do it?” She sounded amused. “Well, we did.”

“Oh?” Erend inquired between bites. “And?”

“It’s a boy.” She looked down at her leather clad belly, running a hand over it. “We’re going to name him after his father.”

Erend’s chest felt tight. The world would have a new Elof in a couple months. “That’s beautiful,” he managed.

“Have you and Aloy thought of any names?” Elrick asked.

All of this baby small talk was only serving it increase how badly Erend missed his wife. “No, because Aloy wants to follow Nora naming traditions,” he said. “The baby will be six months old before the naming ceremony.”

Both Zahra and Elrick looked up from their food with mystified looks on their faces. “Six months?” Zahra echoed. “But the gender test, that would have been weird.” Then they both dissolved into laughter.

It was nice seeing Elrick and Zahra laughing, and the mirth was contagious. Soon it was all three of them chuckling into their dinners.

The mood for the rest of the meal was lighter, and Erend was feeling a bit better about things by the end of it. That is until he retired to the solitude of the guest bedroom. For some reason the mere sight of the empty bed he’d be sleeping in made him miss Aloy.

His pack was lying across the foot of the mattress and he immediately set to rifling through it to find the silk shoulder wrap he’d stolen and brought with him.

How was it he once spent four months separated from Aloy? Here it had been four DAYS and he felt a bit like he was coming apart at the seams. He sank down to sit on the edge of the bed, holding the folded silk garment in his hands.

A knock on the bedroom door startled him, he mumbled for them to come in as he scooped up the wrap from the floor, having dropped it.

“Evening, Cap.”

It was Brant, much to Erend’s surprise. The captain merely grunted in reply, brushing dirt from the floor that clung to the silk item in his hands.

“Thought I’d come check on you,” Brant said, eying the captain as if assessing him.

Erend shook his head, sinking back onto the edge of the bed. “I hate this,” he admitted. “I keep feeling like I’m going to miss something. I hate not being there.”

Brant nodded thoughtfully, coming close enough to place a hand on Erend’s shoulder.

“What if something goes wrong and I’m all the way here in the Claim?” Erend found himself asking, clutching the silk wrap between his fingers.

“Alright, you need to relax. I know you’re not supposed to be drinking, but I think you should come to Modir’s with me. I won’t let you have more than one,” Brant said. Erend was hesitant, but the thought of being alone with his thoughts at the moment didn’t seem like a good idea. So he agreed.

“Besides,” Brant said, as Erend laid the silk wrap across the bed. “I’m sure everything back in Meridian is just fine. Nothing is wrong.”

—————-

“Something is wrong,” Aloy practically whimpered as Anehita breeched the front door to the apartment.

The bags the midwife had been carrying tumbled to the floor as she rushed forward. Aloy was still lying curled on the sofa, her arms wrapped around her pregnant belly.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Anehita was at the edge of the sofa sinking to her knees in a flash, hands coming up to join Aloy’s on her stomach. “Talk to me.”

For a moment, Aloy just breathed in the fact she was no longer alone while she tried to string the words together she needed. Anehita was feeling around her abdomen, could surely feel the muscles that were very slowly unclenching from the last episode that brought her to her knees.

“When I got home, I had what I thought was just a crimp in my side,” Aloy began, still taking deep breaths. “But then a bit later it came back and it was all through here.” She traced the underside of her belly with her fingers.

“How many times has it happened?” Anehita asked, letting her hands go idle on the silken curve above Aloy’s navel.

“Three times now over the past couple hours,” Aloy said, her voice cracking. “Is this the beginning of labor? Is she coming now? Because Erend would never forgive himself if he misses it. And it’s too soon? Isn’t it too soon?”

No longer was the pregnant woman breathing slowly, her heart beating in her throat. Anehita slowly sidled onto the couch, an arm falling down around Aloy’s shoulders.

“Breath, just breath,” Anehita said in a calm low voice. “While what you’re describing does sound like contractions, it may not mean labor just yet.”

Aloy closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down.

“How long since the last one?” Anehita asked, gently tightening the arm across Aloy’s shoulder.

“Literally just a few minutes before you arrived,” she said. “Maybe ten minutes.”

The midwife gave an encouraging nod. “Okay then, we will just have to see if another one comes,” she said. “You’re going to stay put right here, and I’m going to bring you a glass of water, then start dinner.”

Aloy nodded mutely, and watched as her friend retrieved the fallen groceries from the entryway, and then returned with the glass of water. Aloy took it with shaking hands, mumbling a thank you.

“Everything is going to be okay, you’re not alone,” Anehita reassured her. “Drink that and then lie down, if you feel the slightest discomfort beginning tell me.”

Red hair bobbing around her, Aloy nodded silently and fervently, voice completely failing her. Anehita returned to the kitchen end of the apartment, but having her there a couple dozen feet away was relieving a certain portion of Aloy’s anxiety.

She gulped down the water, and slid the empty glass onto the side table before crawling up among the silk pillows of the sofa. Stretching the length of the couch, she tried to relax. Of course this would happen while Erend was away.

They’d been blessed with a fairly smooth pregnancy since they’d settled in Meridian. Aloy was young, and as Anehita put it ‘hardy’, and she’d taken for granted the idea that anything could possibly not go perfectly.

Her mind drifted to Erend as the baby had decided to start moving again. She wondered how he was doing in the Claim, wondered if he was thinking about her. She imagined how he might react if he was home for this. Would he have kept calm or panicked with her until Anehita had arrived?

The sun had sunk away, the sky fading from red to purple through the living room windows. The savory smell of cooking was drifting from the kitchen, and Aloy had finally managed to relax. Anehita came to fetch her when dinner was ready.

“Just take it easy,” Annie said, as she helped Aloy up from the sofa. “How are you feeling now?”

They walked arm and arm to the dining table, where two plates heaped with fried rice were already set in front of their places. Aloy waited until she was seated to answer, scooting her chair in as far as she could with her mound of a tummy.

“I feel okay right now, and this smells amazing,” she said.

“Eat,” Anehita said, now pouring Aloy fresh water. The pregnant woman didn’t need to be told twice, digging in.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, Aloy feeling mildly ashamed of how she shoveled the food into her mouth, suddenly realizing how long it had been since her lunch. Anehita took her time with her meal, getting up at some point to serve Aloy seconds.

Aloy was just starting to think she was in the clear, as she waved Anehita off from gathering the plates and cookware and began the dishes. She was elbow deep in the basin water, scrubbing a pan when she felt the stitch in her side.

“Oh no,” she breathed.

Anehita was drying a plate at her shoulder, setting it down and instead bringing the towel to Aloy’s wet hands as she yanked them from the basin.

The midwife eased her to sit in one of the dining chairs, as the muscles in Aloy’s sides tightened painfully. She let out a gasp of pain, hunched forward.

Anehita was kneeling on the floor again, both hands on Aloy’s belly. “Keep breathing,” she said in a calm voice. “Everything is okay.”

“How can you say everything is okay?” Aloy’s voice didn’t sound like her own, there was a ferociousness to it. “It doesn’t FEEL okay.”

Seemingly unfazed by this outburst, Anehita was feeling around the tense prison of muscles that was currently encompassing Aloy’s torso. “I think this is fool’s labor,” the midwife said. “You did a bit more physical activity today than usual?”

Aloy couldn’t think straight, the discomfort had reached its peak, she was just trying to hold on until the other side. Once if finally began to ebb she had to admit to herself that though she’d just taken a walk around the city, it had been a longer one than she’d taken in a while.

“I did yes,” she said between ragged breaths. “And the first one happened when I was coming up the stairs.”

Anehita gave her a small sad smile. “Oh, honey, you’re going to hate this, but I think you need to stay off your feet for a while,” she said, looking up into Aloy’s eyes. “Full bed rest, just to be safe.”

The last bit of the contraction was immediately overshadowed by Aloy’s dread of this notion. “What to you mean full bed rest?” she asked. “As in I just stay in the bed, all the time?”

“Yes, you need to let your body use all of its energy here,” Anehita said, rubbing the sides of Aloy’s round tummy almost like Erend often did. “Don’t worry, until the boys get back I can stay with you. Take care of you.”

Closing her eyes, Aloy let out a long sigh. “I’m not the best at letting someone take care of me,” she admitted.

“I know, we’ll work on it,” Anehita said. “Now let’s get you to bed.”

Aloy shook her head no, and before she could receive an argument back she clarified. “I need to pee first.”

Anehita laughed, and ushered Aloy up from the chair and onward to the washroom.

—————-

The next few days passed by in a crawl, as Aloy spent the majority of her time in bed being saw to by a patient Anehita. Somehow there were not nearly enough files on her Focus to occupy her, and the minutes felt like hours more often than not. But her baby didn’t come early, and her episodes had gotten less and less before ceasing altogether

Aloy missed Erend more and more the longer this went on. It was a dull ache in her chest every time she awoke alone in their bed. She’d nearly called Anehita in from the sofa to sleep next to her on more than one occasion.

It had been just over a week since the Vanguard departed when Anehita finally allowed Aloy to eat a meal outside of the bedroom. The girls were having sandwiches in the kitchen for lunch when there was a knock on the front door.

“Don’t you dare,” Anehita hissed, as Aloy has made to get up from the kitchen table to answer it. “I’ll get it.”

Aloy acquiesced to this, but turned in her chair to watch. Anehita trotted to the front door, her silk skirt swinging. She opened it to reveal Gunnar, the Vanguard that has been left in charge while Brant and Erend were gone.

“Afternoon Miss Anehita,” he greeted with a polite nod of his round face down. “A letter arrived at the palace from the Captain for his wife.” His dark eyes slid to where Aloy sat, giving her a nod like the first.

“Thank you Gunnar,” Anehita said, taking the proffered envelope.

He bid them farewell, and Anehita hurried over with the letter as the door swung close behind him.

“I think I’ll go wash up, give you a moment,” Annie said, retreating into the washroom as Aloy turned the parchment envelope over in her hands. She ran careful fingers over the red seal she remembered so well.

For a moment she was transported back to a very different time, excitedly opening letters next to the flickering fire at her childhood home. It hadn’t even occurred to her that he might write to her from the Claim.

Gently she tore the envelope open around the seal, and slid from it a letter in her husband’s familiar scrawl.

_‘Dearest Aloy,_

_Greetings from the Claim. I’d love to tell you it is nice being back in my homeland, but I would be lying. My fellow Oseram are just as stubborn and argumentative as I remember, and these negotiations have been messy and volatile. We’ve only just finally started to gain traction, and hopefully in the coming days an agreement will be found._

_Regardless I’m home in a little over a week, and no amount of rowdy Ealdorman could keep me from returning on time._

_I miss you both more than I could ever hope to put into words. I don’t think I’ve slept a proper night’s sleep since I left you. I wake up longing to hold you, wishing I could feel our baby moving beneath my fingers._

_I hope this letter finds you well. I love you so much. I’ll be home soon._

_Yours always, Erend’_

Aloy smiled as she finished reading, clutching the letter in one hand, her other resting on her pregnant belly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I did not intend when I wrote the last chapter to leave you all hanging so long. I took an indvertant but I think necessary break. I’m working on getting back my writing rhythm and hopefully we won’t see another lengthy lapse in updates. 
> 
> For those of you who also read Need the Sun to Break it’ll be returning next week with a Valentine’s Day chapter. 
> 
> Thanks for being so patient and thanks for reading.


	12. The Vanguard Returns

Aloy awoke with a slight gasp. The bedroom was dark, the smallest splice of moonlight shining through the window that looked out upon the square below. She needn't wonder long what woke her, the baby was kicking, a sensation that was still strange and exhilarating to her so much so that she didn't mind being woken by it. At least it wasn't another episode of fool’s labor.

Especially since her midwife had gone back to sleeping at her own place. Aloy ran her hand across her round belly, clothed in a light fabric sleep shirt. Her eyes fell on Erend’s empty side of the bed, wishing he was there.

Erend had been gone nearly the full two weeks already. The Vanguard were due back in a couple days and it couldn't come soon enough for Aloy.

She missed her husband desperately.

Aloy drew the sheets off of herself, padding barefoot out into their empty apartment to the washroom, figuring she might as well pee while she was awake instead of being awoken by it in a bit. She held her aching back as she went.

Being pregnant was rough on the back, and feet, and knees. Come to think of it, being pregnant was rough on just about every part of the body. Even her brain felt like it was exhausted as she slid back into the bed.

Fortunately the baby seemed to have tired itself out of kicking, so as she settled back into the pillows sleep returned to her quickly.

Aloy wasn't sure how long she slept before being awoken again, this time by the sensation of the sheets that were tangled around her being tugged on. Her eyes sprang open and she moved to sit up when a familiar voice spoke in a half whisper.

“Aloy, it's me.”

Erend’s face swam into her vision as he slid into the bed next to her. She squinted in the dark to make out the mohawk, reached out and ran thin fingers along his mustache and into the hair along his jaw.

“Erend.” She breathed his name. “You're home early..”

“Yes, I'm sorry I startled you,” he said, pushing himself up on his forearm next to her and pressing his lips to hers by way of a proper greeting. His other hand found the side of her pregnant stomach which was sandwiched slightly between them. “We made it to Brightwatch about a couple hours ago. The rest of the men were crashing in the barracks but I told them I needed to get home to my beautiful wife.”

“I'm glad you're here,” she said, after he kissed her again. “I missed you.”

He brushed hair back from her face, pressing his lips to her forehead for a brief moment. “I missed you too,” he said. “You should roll over.”

This sounded like a simple request, and Aloy was glad he had the decency to mask his chuckle with a cough as she huffed a bit doing so. She forgave him instantly for this as his hands slid along the back of her shirt, gently massaging.

As it turned out, Erend was quite the masseuse once he had some practice on her. It had been part of his quest to keep her comfortable throughout the pregnancy, a challenge that only got harder with each passing day.

“I can tell your back was hurting,” he said behind her, hands still gently working. “More knots than usual.”

She felt him tugging up her sleep shirt, sliding his hands underneath to massage her skin to skin. Aloy let out a soft moan into the pillow as he kneaded a particularly tough knot.

Erend hummed softly. “That feel good?” He asked, sliding his body up close behind her as he said this. Aloy inadvertently answered with another small moan.

Soon his chest was pressed against her back, his arm snaking over her side, hand coming, as it so often did in the past months, to her belly. “I love you,” he said into her hair, lips finding the skin of her neck and kissing her there.

“I love you, too,” she replied, her sleepiness was falling away, replaced with something else entirely as Erend’s hand drifted up her torso, still beneath her shirt. Soon Erend was performing a different sort of massage, finding her round breast and cupping it in his rough palm.

For the briefest of moments Aloy thought about the fact she was supposed to be on bed rest, supposed to be taking it easy, but as her husband rolled his hips against her from behind she decided she wouldn't stop him.

“I missed you so much,” he whispered, lips hot on her shoulder where he'd been kissing her, fingers drifting down between her legs. Aloy let out another moan, significantly more sultry than when he'd been massaging just her back.

  
When she awoke the next morning, alone in bed, Aloy wondered for a moment if she had dreamt Erend was there. Then she realized that she was naked, the smell of breakfast cooking wafted through the cracked bedroom door and she smiled realizing it was not.

She lie there for a while, dozing in and out of sleep, before finally dragging herself from the bed and sliding on a blue silk maternity dress. Being pregnant also made Aloy significantly less stealthy than she once was. He heard her footsteps immediately once she left the bedroom, the song he had been whistling cut off as he turned.

“Moonflower,” he said over the sizzle of the pan. “I guess this won't be breakfast in bed after all. Sit.”

Aloy smiled at the thought, going to sink into one of the dining chairs at the table. She held her stomach as she did this, her back giving a small zing of pain in protest. She was mildly glad he wasn't looking, his attention on his cooking.

“I'm sure it'll taste just as good eating it at the table as it would have in bed,” Aloy said.

Erend resumed his whistling, flipping strips of bacon in the skillet. Aloy fidgeted in her chair attempting to get comfortable, she only just felt like she was accomplishing this when the baby awoke and with a couple kicks made her need to pee.

By the time she returned Erend was placing two plates heaped with eggs and bacon down on the table. He pulled the chair out for her, even going so far as to help scoot it back up to the table once she was seated.

“It’s so good to have you home,” she said. “Thank you for breakfast.”

“Your welcome,” Erend said, coming back around the table to sit himself. “And I can’t tell you how glad I am to BE home.”

They dug into their food after that, Aloy trying not to gobble it down too quickly. “How did everything go in the Claim?” she asked, between mouthfuls.

“As good as expected, we got there in the end,” he answered thoughtfully. “How’s everything been here? Did I miss anything?”

Aloy was grateful to have a mouth full of food when he asked this. She made quite a to do of chewing and swallowing it, thinking. Then she shook her head. “Just two weeks of me waddling around here missing you,” she said. Then she let out a small oof because the baby had surprised her with another kick. “Also she’s learned to kick harder, I swear.”

Erend had left his seat in an instant, falling to his knees alongside her chair, hands coming to her mound of a pregnant belly to feel for himself. He wore a broad smile, framed by the hair on his face, hands moving gently over the silk of Aloy’s dress.

It took a moment for her to realize this was a more in depth examination of her tummy than she was used to, she set down her juice glass and eyed the top of his mohawk. He had turned his head sideways, ear pressed near her belly button, hands firmly planted on either side of this.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Popping up, Erend shook his head. “It’s just…” he paused, moving his hands to feel slightly different spots, the baby was alive with motion at all the attention. “Something Brant said about how big you’d gotten.”

Aloy bristled. “About what now?”

“Your belly I mean,” Erend said, rolling his hands on it as if to illustrate. “Kept winding me up saying you might be having twins.”

“I’m pretty sure Anehita would have noticed a second baby,” she said, reaching a hand out and running it front to back down his mohawk.

“That’s what I said…” Erend began, but she cut him off.

“Especially when she listens to the baby’s heartbeat with her scope thing she uses,” Aloy finished. “Remember listening to the heartbeat?”

“Of course, I didn’t even think of that,” he said, breathing out a sigh. He knelt his head down one last time, kissing the curve of her stomach. “You kick with the strength of two babies now, though.”

Aloy laughed, setting back to eating as Erend returned to his seat, smiling at her across the table.

—————-

Erend has lingered at home longer than he'd meant, and as a result was running behind for the mid-day debrief from his venture to the Claim. He’d had a hard time prying himself away but he figured the sooner he got done with the meeting the sooner he could be back home cooking them dinner.

To say he was happy to be back in Meridian would have been the understatement of the century. He was relieved to be walking neatly bricked streets, back among the more dignified citizens of the Sundom.

Marad, Brant, and the King were waiting for him in the royal sitting room when he arrived, the tea tray was already there. Marad looked up from stirring sweetener into his tea.

“Nice of you to join us,” he said.

“Apologies, lost track of time at home,” Erend said, sidling between the table and the cushioned bench to sit down next to Brant.

Avad was sitting in his usual high backed chair, one leg crossed over the other, clawed shoe bouncing slightly. “I can understand that,” he said, taking a sip of his tea. “I imagine your wife was very happy to see you.”

Erend’s armor creaked as he leaned forward to prepare his own tea. “And I her,” he said.

“Brant’s been filling us in,” the King said. “I feel the agreement is sound, don't you?”

“I do,” Erend agreed. “A bit imbalanced in their favor perhaps but as the Ealdormen see it, they need it more than us at the moment. Our resources will help them rebuild and in the long run both tribes win.”

They got deep into the particulars of the negotiations, talking for a long while. Erend finished one cup of tea and after yawning a handful of times decided he would need a second one. Marad was going on and on about trade routes and organizing to have traders moving the agreed upon resources to the Claim.

Brant looked ready to end this debrief, and Erend was on the same page. He was about to say as much when a servant came and interrupted.

“Your Luminance,” the servant girl said with a curtsy, then she leaned close and spoke to the King quietly so that the others couldn't here.

“You all will have to excuse me for a moment,” Avad said, rising.

The King followed the servant away, and the three men sat in silence for a while. After it became apparent they might be waiting for a bit, Brant set down his cup and turned to Erend.

“So how IS Aloy doing?” he asked. “What with everything that happened while we were gone?”

Erend frowned into his cup, having no idea what Brant meant. “Aloy is fine, why wouldn't she be?” he asked.

His friend furrowed his brow. “She didn't tell you?” he asked. “Annie said she started having contractions. They thought she was in labor. Had to put her on bed rest and limit her physical activity.”

Erend fumbled his tea cup, sending tea down his front. “Physical activity?” his voice came out higher pitched than he'd ever heard it. “But we…”

His chest felt tight, as he remembered just how much physical activity he had engaged in with his pregnant wife in the night. He had stood up without realizing, setting his cup down on the tea tray so hard the entire thing rattled.

Brant seemed to have realized he maybe had said too much, looking up at the captain from his seat. “Annie said the bed rest was mainly precautionary at this point,” he said, clearly trying to help.

“They thought she was in labor?!” Erend asked, his brain catching up, his voice still off-pitched.

This time Brant simply nodded. Anger was bubbling up inside Erend. “I can't believe she didn't tell me,” he growled. “Give Avad my apologies, I need to go.”

The captain was out the door before anyone could protest. He couldn't decide what he was feeling more: worry or anger. Worry that something could have sincerely gone wrong with the pregnancy, and still could. Anger that Aloy hadn't told him the moment he'd arrived, and that she'd allowed them to engage in romantic activities that could have put her and the baby at risk.

Erend stormed through the crowded afternoon streets, ignoring the scandalized looks pedestrians threw his way as he jostled by. He was at the foot of the stairs up to their apartment before he realized, stomping up them two at a time.

Aloy and Anehita were sitting in the living room when he burst through the door. Both girls jumped, Aloy gripping her domed stomach.

“Are you trying to scare us to death?” Anehita joked, but the look of amusement faded from her face the moment she saw his expression. “What’s wrong?”

“How could you not tell me?” Erend practically bellowed, brandishing a gloved finger in Aloy’s direction. “I had to find out that my wife had pregnancy complications in the middle of a damn debrief.”

Aloy bit her lip, sinking deeper into the couch pillows.

“You didn't tell him?” Anehita sounded incredulous.

“Not only did she not tell me,” Erend growled, turning to the midwife. “But we had what I now realize was ill-advised sex when I got home last night.”

“Aloy!” Annie dropped her face into her hands, brunette curls falling around her head. “When I said bed rest that wasn't an included activity just because you do it in a bed.”

“I’m FINE,” Aloy said. “I haven’t had an episode in days.”

Erend was struck by the phrasing she used. “An episode? Exactly how many times did this happen?”

Anehita and Aloy exchanged a look that did nothing to sooth his concerns. His wife was carefully not looking at him, keeping her eyes on either the midwife or her own pregnant belly. “A... few,” she said in a soft voice. “I swear I was going to tell you...”

“When exactly?” Erend demanded, unable to control the frustration laced in his voice.

She shook her head, falling silent again.

“Alright, you need to calm down,” Anehita said, rising from her seat. “I know it sounds very alarming, but what Aloy has been experiencing is actually fairly common, and as she said it’s been a couple days since her last scare.”

Erend swallowed hard, throat having gone very dry suddenly. “Can we maybe go back to calling them episodes?” he asked, not liking the term ‘scare’.

Anehita had walked around behind Erend, and was now pushing him towards the couch. He acquiesced, slowly sinking down to sit next to his pregnant wife. “I don’t know, they felt pretty scary,” Aloy murmured.

Letting out a haggard sigh, Erend turned and pressed one of his hands to the curve of her belly. He was angry, but the thought of Aloy frightened and without him was taking the edge of his annoyance away. “Did you really think you’d gone into labor?”

Aloy nodded, her eyes on his hand as it rubbed a slow circle along the silk that clung to her stomach. Beneath his fingers he felt the baby stir, then a firm reassuring kick. Finally, she looked up at him, a somewhat defiant glint in her eyes as if to say ‘see, the baby is fine’, which truly seemed to be the case based on the sheer volume of motion.

The sun through the window was glinting off Aloy’s hair, and Erend’s anger ebbed even further. “You should have told me,” he repeated but this time his voice came out soft, gentle.

“I know,” she said, hand finding his on her belly. “I’m sorry.”

Erend let out a huff of breath, turning to look at Anehita who was hovering nearby watching them. “Tell me everything,” he said. He knew Aloy wouldn’t, possibly couldn’t, and he needed to know.

The midwife did as she was asked. She recounted coming to have dinner with Aloy only to find her in a panic. How that night Aloy has awoken with the pains many times but as the days has worn on they’d slowed down and then stopped. She told him how she’d stayed with his wife while he was gone to care for her, and that now all Aloy needed was rest and relaxation.

Anehita put quite an emphasis on the word ‘relaxation’ and Erend caught the hidden message beneath this. That no matter how mad he was he couldn’t be yelling at his wife and stressing her out right now. His wife who had slowly slid closer to him, tucking herself against his side, resting her head on his goldenrod scarf.

“I should have been here,” he said, easing an arm around her, leaning his head against the top of hers.

“Well, you’re here now,” she murmured into his scarf.

Erend closed his eyes, giving her a gentle squeeze with the arm around her back. “I’m sorry I shouted.”

A watery sob made Erend look to Anehita who was dabbing her eyes. “You two!” she exclaimed, swooping forward to awkwardly hug the couple where they sat huddled together on the sofa. “I’ll give you some space I trust she’s in very capable hands.”

The midwife left them after that. Aloy was still very quiet, clinging to him as if she was afraid to let go. Erend found himself rocking them, crossing an arm over himself to touch her tummy once more. “We’re okay,” he said into her hair. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said, pulling gently back from his chest and turning her pale face up to his. Her eyes were a sea of emotion, her lips turned down in concern.

Erend kissed her, anything to make her look less dismal. It worked, she had a small smile forming when he pulled away. “I’m here now,” Erend said. “And I’m going to take care of you, I promise.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been outlining through the birth and I’m pretty excited for some of the stuff coming up for WwaV. 
> 
> Thank you all for continuing to read my fluff.


	13. The Final Check Up

The sun was just rising as Erend departed the apartment. He’d left Aloy sound asleep, wanting to get this over with. His departure from the palace the day before had been abrupt, and he wasn’t sure what sort of reception he’d face when he arrived.

He'd thought about going back the night before but once he'd calmed down he wanted nothing more than to be as close to his wife as possible. He'd made her dinner, and sat with her on the sofa rubbing her aching feet. Then the couple had gone to bed together, and Erend had rubbed Aloy’s back until she fell asleep.

Considering the rocky start, it had turned into a fine evening, and now if he wanted more time to spend at home taking care of his pregnant wife, he'd have to talk to the King.

The merchants in the market were just starting to get their stalls open when he passed through, and the guards on the bridge to the Sun-Palace all looked sleepy and ready to be relieved for the day. Even Marad gave him a tired look as if it was too early when the Captain arrived in the sitting room.

“Morning brief isn't for another hour,” the dark skinned advisor grumbled.

“I know, I'm not here for that,” Erend said, swallowing down a lump forming in his throat from nervousness. “I need to speak to the King about a private matter.”

Marad straightened up, having set down the scrolls he'd been holding. “I see,” he said, and he did seem to. “I'll let him know you're here.” He walked off towards the door that led down into the depths of the Palace before pausing. “Aloy _is_ alright, isn't she?”

“She will be,” Erend assured him.

Nodding, Marad actually went after that, leaving Erend to nervously pace the sitting room. He waited what felt like a long while before hearing the tell tale footsteps of Avad and his personal guards ascending the stairs.

“Good morning, Captain,” the King greeted, walking around the cushioned chaise to slide into his favorite chair. “I must say I'm surprised to see you. I wasn't even sure if I should expect you for the morning brief.”

“Good morning, your highness,” Erend returned, forcing himself to sit. “I owe you an apology for yesterday.” He opened his mouth to continue further but Avad was shaking his head.

“Worry not, my friend,” the King said. “Brant filled me in when I returned, and quite honestly I would have expected nothing less than for you to go immediately. How is she? And… the baby?”

“They're both stable,” Erend said. “But Anehita, our midwife, doesn't want Aloy doing a lot between now and the birth.”

Avad nodded thoughtfully, steepling his fingers against one another, and sizing up the captain with an assessing look. “I suppose that’s why you're here.”

“It is,” Erend said, taking a deep breath. “I know we discussed the possibility of me stepping down and taking some time off when the baby is born, but I think I am needed at home now.”

“You can take all the time you need. I feel you've earned that,” the King said. “Brant can stand in as Captain, don't you agree?”

“I do yes,” Erend said, relaxing. Clearly he'd been worried for nothing. “And Gunnar can act as his second in command.”

The King nodded in agreement, a small amused grin on his lips, framed by his sparse goatee. “You were actually worried to ask me,” he said. This wasn't a question. “As if I'm oblivious to the fact you've taken absolutely no time off from the Vanguard since we liberated Meridian from my father three years ago.”

“Unless you count the two weeks I spent in Dervahl’s dungeon as time off,” Erend replied with a laugh. “Though, once I have a new born in the house that might look like a relaxing vacation in hindsight.”

They laughed together then, until the King fell quiet, looking over Erend’s shoulder. Erend did not need to turn to know that Avad was looking to where a certain Vanguard weapon hung from the sitting room wall.

“I've also been thinking about Ersa a lot here lately,” Erend admitted. “Wondering what she’d think of everything that’s happened since she was taken from us.”

“I think she’s be so proud of you,” Avad said, bringing his eyes back to Erend’s face. “I'm proud of you.”

Suddenly there was a very different knot in Erend’s throat, as well as the tell tale sting of unshed tears in the corner of his eyes. “Thank you, that means a lot,” he said in a soft voice.

“I can't help but wonder if things had been different,” Avad began, eyes shifting back to where Ersa’s war-maul hung. “Would she and I be starting a family alongside you by now?”

“Or would she have bullied you into marrying some Carja nobility for the good of the Sundom?” Erend asked, attempting to make light of the question that had turned his stomach. He tried and failed to keep himself from imagining a pregnant Ersa visiting a pregnant Aloy at the apartment.

“That does sound like something she might've done,” Avad said with a wistful sigh. Silence fell again, and Erend looked to the King and saw a man who was lonely. It had never occurred to Erend before that his marriage and growing family might be reminding Avad of what he’d lost.

“It's been over a year,” Erend said, carefully choosing his words. “I don't think my sister would want you to remain alone forever. She’d…” He swallowed hard, trying to push down the tears threatening to surface. “She’d want you to find a way to be happy without her.”

Avad cleared his throat, ducking his head down so Erend couldn't see just how glassy eyed he was. “You’re probably right,” the King murmured. “Speaking of over a year, are you aware we’re approaching the anniversary of the battle at the Spire?”

With that the topic of Ersa was dropped, though Erend couldn't help but wonder if the King had left something else unsaid in their conversation.

—————-

“How is that thing so cold?” Aloy asked, having jumped the moment the metal instrument met with her bare tummy.

“Oh sorry, let me,” Anehita pulled the round metal end of her listening scope back away, rubbing it in her own palm to warm it.

Aloy was up on the exam table in Anehita’s hospital office. Erend was sat in a chair in the corner, stifling a laugh. He looked significantly more comfortable than she felt, lied back in the table with her legs propped up in weird foot holds. She had just a thin sheet over her nether regions at the moment, beyond that she was naked.

“Better?” The midwife asked, as she pressed the metal disk to the skin stretched taught around Aloy’s belly button.

“Yes, thank you,” Aloy breathed, letting her head fall back onto the cushioned table top.

“Good strong heart beat,” Anehita said, having moved the scope along until she found a good spot. “Baby’s almost ready to come out of there.” The midwife’s head was bent low, ears tethered to the listening device by flexible cording of some kind.

“We have what?” Aloy asked. “Three more weeks?” Aloy was ready. Ready to not be pregnant anymore. Ready to be able to sleep in any position again. Ready to be able to sit down or stand up without it being a huge endeavor. Ready for everyone to stop acting like she was delicate.

“Give or take,” Anehita answered. “Erend would you like to hear?”

Aloy’s husband practically overturned his chair as he rushed forward. The midwife took his hand and placed it on the metallic circle, Aloy could feel his calloused fingers touching the skin around the device. Anehita proceeded to transfer the ear pieces from her own ears to Erend’s.

He let out an audible gasp. Smiling wide, he brought a second hand to her belly also before looking up to Aloy’s face. “I can hear when she kicks too,” he said.

“I don't need to hear those, I can feel them just fine,” Aloy said. “Now when you say give or take, are you saying the baby could come early?”

“Or late, yes,” Annie said. She’d stepped back from the table to allow Erend the space. “Nine months is the usual term of a pregnancy, but that doesn't mean the birth will be on the dot.”

Aloy let out a groan, closing her eyes, ignoring the fact that Erend was still poring over her domed belly listening to the baby’s heart beat. “I’d prefer early.”

She felt fingers in her hair, and opened her eyes. Anehita had come to the head of the table brushing through Aloy’s hair with delicate care. “I know you're probably reaching peak uncomfortable right now,” she said. “It won't be long now.”

Aloy gave a tired nod. Erend was looking at her sympathetically. “Here, I think this will help,” he said, pulling the listening device from his ears. As he leaned over her to place the ear pieces on her, he kissed her forehead. Then his hand was back in her pregnant belly, holding the metal disc in place.

Her ears were filled with the sound of the baby’s heart beat, steady as a drum: ‘thump THUMP… thump THUMP… thump THUMP’

Erend popped a hip up on the table, sliding a strong arm around her shoulders. ‘thump THUMP… thump THUMP… thump THUMP’. She let her head sag against his shoulder, twining her fingers with his where they held the metal disc in place on her stomach. ‘thump THUMP… thump THUMP… thump THUMP’

“She’s going to be here before you know it,” he said softly.

Aloy felt herself relax further against him, relishing in the sound of their child’s heartbeat steady in her ears ‘thump THUMP… thump THUMP… thump THUMP’.

Anehita left them be like this for a while, before stepping forward to take back the listening scope. “You can get dressed,” she said. “Do we need to go over the birth plan again?”

Aloy slid her heels from their place in the foot holds, taking her maternity dress from Anehita.

“When contractions begin, we send for you,” Erend recited. “Unless they're already less than five minutes apart, then we come straight here.” As he spoke he helped slide the dress up over his wife’s head, helping her pull it down, even going so far as smoothing it over her domed belly.

“You've got the pocket watch so you can time them?” Anehita asked.

“On me at all times,” he said, pulling the round burnished brass watch from a pocket to illustrate. “And I already have a bag packed for Aloy to come with her.”

The smile on Aloy’s face had to have been huge. Erend had thought of everything and his excitement was contagious. She craned her neck back, kissing him on his cheek just above the hair that grew along his jaw.

“Sounds to me like you're both ready,” Annie said.

—————-

Erend couldn't believe or had been two weeks since he'd stepped down from his Vanguard duties. He'd expected the time to drag, especially since the baby hadn't actually arrived yet. It turned out, however, that taking care of Aloy had kept him pretty busy.

Probably because he was sincerely not allowing her to do much of anything other than lay or sit. Erend was handling everything from the laundry to the shopping. Just about the only thing he'd allow her to do for herself was bathe, and even then he drew the bath for her.

Aloy was being as patient with it as she could, but he'd had his head bit off a few times because she was tired of being coddled.

This was likely why she'd been MORE than happy to allow him to go out at mid-day to catch up with Brant and see how things were going in the Captain’s absence. He caught up with his friend down in the Maizelands in a return trip from checking out things at the Western base gate.

“Cap!” Brant greeted, pounding him on the shoulder. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

They fell into step together, making the walk back through the village. “Ah, well, thought I'd check in,” Erend said, shrugging. “Plus, the wife wanted me out of the house for a while.”

“She say that?” Brant asked with a laugh.

“Didn't need to,” Erend said, as they meandered back towards the main elevators back up to the Mesa.

“Is this the sort of thing I have to look forward to in married life?” Brant asked, sounding amused.

Erend blinked, unsure if that meant what he thought it meant. They'd reached the foot of the elevator shafts, and Brant had turned to throw the switch in order to call a car down. Erend was sure that his curiosity was showing all over his face, because when his friend turned back he immediately laughed.

Brant waited until the elevator arrived, the golden gates folding away to allow the two Oseram to step inside. Once the doors were closed Brant flung the switch to set them in motion. Then, seemingly unable to keep it in a moment longer, he blurted out: “I'm going to ask Annie to marry me.”

“Fire and spit, that’s excellent news!” Erend exclaimed. “When are you doing to ask? Have you got it planned?”

“I figure, I'll do it at the celebration next week,” Brant said. “Carja style, I even got her an engagement ring. Here, look.”

He was keeping it in a small leather pouch on a cord around his neck. He fished it from beneath his armor and fumbled with the drawstring to get it open, then dumped the glittering piece of jewelry out into the palm of his hand. It's centerpiece was a glittering red stone set into an ornate gold setting.

“That is beautiful, man,” Erend said, eying it.

“You guys ARE coming to the celebration right?” Brant asked. “Guests of honor, I imagine.”

The elevator clanged to a halt topside, Erend leading the way out past a gaggle of citizens waiting to board the car. “Just about the only excuse the King will accept for Aloy and I NOT attending would be childbirth,” Erend said. “So unless the baby comes early, we’ll be there.”

—————-

“I can’t tell you how little I want to attend this thing,” Aloy said.

Anehita was behind her, closing up a row of intricate buttons up the back of Aloy’s dress. This was Aloy’s final fitting for her celebration gown, which was by far the most intricate piece of clothing Aloy had ever worn. It was made of layered silk, like her maternity dresses, but the seamstress had bedazzled it with shining pieces of metal and intricate beadwork.

As a result the whole thing weighed a ton, and between that and the baby Aloy felt as if she was moving through deep water with every motion.

“Come now, the kingdom is so much better off now than it was a year ago,” Anehita said. “And that’s largely thanks to you. You need to be there.”

Aloy sighed. “You sound like Avad,” she said. Then she put on a slightly pompous voice. “You are the hero of the Sundom. We merely want to thank you annually, forever, in a form of celebration you will not enjoy. You NEED to attend.”

“Are... are you mocking the Sun-King?” Anehita asked, fastening the final button at the top of the dress. Fortunately she sounded more amused than offended.

“I don’t know if mock is the right word,” Aloy began, but then Madam Pavati’s tinkling voice floated through the dressing room curtain.

“How’s it looking in there, ladies?”

Anehita yanked open the curtain and with a small shove pushed Aloy out into the main part of the seamstress shop.

Madam Pavati was dressed in her usual glittering silk clothing, complete with long flowing sleeves. The old woman looked simply delighted, swooping forward from among the racks of pre-made dresses for sale.

“Yes, yes we finally got the fit just right,” she said, seizing Aloy’s arm with surprising grip and guiding her in front of the mirror. As per Aloy’s request the dress was made in blue, yellow, and red, the colors for the Nora, Oseram, and Carja tribes respectively. “How does it feel across here?”

Pavati ran a hand in front of Aloy’s belly, where a triangular pattern of all the tribal colors was intricately beaded into the silk.

“The fit is fine,” Aloy said, trying to appreciate how the dress hugged her, the way neckline of flowing blue silk sank down on her chest, or the flow of silk that seemed to expand out around her legs.

“One last thing,” the seamstress said, floating away. She returned with a Carja style headdress made of machine parts that fanned out and had tassels dangling from each.

Aloy attempted to shrink away, but was not successfully in avoiding having the gaudy thing placed on her head. She stared at her own reflection in the mirror, head tilting under the weight of the headdress. She shook her head and the tassels wobbled around her face.

“I love the dress, but I’m not wearing this thing on my head,” she said finally.

Pavati let out a cackling laugh. “Very well dear,” she said, reaching spidery fingers out to remove the headdress. “I know it’s a bit much for a Nora. Were you Banuk on the other hand.”

“Alright, now I’ve got to get out of this thing,” Aloy said, turning to Anehita. “I’ve of course got to pee.”

Laughing, they retreated to the dressing room where Anehita helped to free the pregnant woman from the fancy gown. Aloy barely had her regular maternity dress over her head before rushing to the shops tiny washroom to relieve herself.

The baby had woken up, placing what felt like intentional kicks to make her need to pee all the more urgent. She barely made it, her linen underwear around her ankles and the skirt of her dress bunched up under her arms. As she urinated the baby moved, shifting and making her feel as if she should continue even though her bladder seemed to be empty.

“Easy there,” Aloy said to her own round belly as she heaved herself up with the help of a metal bar that housed a couple embroidered towels.

It took her a moment to situate her clothing back in order before turning to pull the chain and set into motion whatever Carja wizardly flushed commodes in Meridian. Before she did she glanced down and noticed something odd colored in the ceramic basin.

The sight of it turned her stomach and she cracked the door and called Anehita.

“What? What is it?” the midwife asked, wedding herself into the tiny washroom, back pressed against the wash basin.

Aloy was pointing. “What is that? Is it blood?” Her voice came out like a raspy whisper, not wanting to alarm the shop owner.

Anehita did not even hesitate to take a closer look leaning over the commode before letting out a sigh of relief. “That’s your plug,” she said calmly. Then she reached up and pulled the chain allowing all the bodily fluids to be washed away.

“My what?” Aloy asked, swapping places with Anehita so that she could wash her hands in the basin.

“Your body forms a sort of biological barrier,” the midwife explained. “Between your womb and your vagina.”

Aloy scrunched her nose, trying to imagine this, turning to dry her hands in one of the towels. “So does that mean the baby is coming?” she asked hopefully.

“It means you’re on the road,” Annie said, extending her hands and placing them on either side of the mound of pregnant belly between them. “It could still be a few days. The baby is going to move down and settle in place and then when it’s time your body will tell you by starting contractions.”

The baby kicked Anehita’s hand and she smiled.

“In other words, I’m not getting out of this party tomorrow,” Aloy said, with a wry smile. “Guess I better buy the dress then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE ARE SO CLOSE.


	14. The Celebration

The morning Meridian sun was bright, the day much brighter and cheerful than one year prior. Erend wondered for a moment at what stage events were at this hour on this day a year prior. Today he was in the market, purchasing flowers for his wife, _not_ fighting corrupted machines up on the Alight. His wife was at home bathing, _not_ holding back Eclipse forces at the western ridge. What a difference a year made.

“Shouldn't you be readying for the celebration, Captain?” the clerk asked, wrapping the pink and purple blooming flowers in paper.

“What celebration? There's a celebration today?” Erend asked the old woman playfully. “Can't recall anything important that happened on this day.” He tilted his head as if trying desperately to recollect something.

“Very funny, Mr. Erend,” she said, pressing the wrapped bouquet of flowers into his hand. “Your wife have that baby yet?”

Erend shook his head, unable to keep the smile from his lips at the mere mention of Aloy and the baby. “Soon,” he said, paying her shards before turning and leaving the marketplace.

Today being what it was, everyone greeted Erend on his walk back home: from mothers gripping the shoulders of rambunctious children to Carja nobles wending their way to the Sun-Palace. Everyone wanted to greet the Captain of the Vanguard on this day of celebration. Doing his best to acknowledge those passerby’s without getting tied up too long in conversation, it was with a sigh of relief that Erend reached the steps up to the apartment.

What a year it had well and truly been.

Aloy’s voice drifted from their bedroom in response to the sound of the front door closing. “Thank the moon you’re here, I need help buttoning up this infernal dress!”

By the time he reached her she was huffing in frustration, the closure done maybe a third of the way up her pale freckled back. Erend set the paper wrapped flowers down on the bed, coming to her back and placing a soothing hand to the skin between her shoulder blades.

“Relax, I'll take care of it,” he said in a soft voice.

The muscles in her back eased a bit beneath his fingers. “Thank you,” she breathed, as he began to fumble with the buttons. “I don't know how single Carja women ever manage to close their dresses.”

Erend chuckled, eyes on his task of closing the blue and red silk back of Aloy’s gown. “This is why you slide all your maternity dresses on over your head, isn't it?” He'd reached the top, fastening the final button before running his fingers over the closure and down to the small of her back.

“It is,” she answered, leaning back against his hand for a moment. “I tried to do the same with this one but I couldn't with how the beadwork fits.”

Finally she turned and for the first time Erend saw the sheer complexity of the dress. The bodice was heavily beaded and intensely form fitting, hugging every curve with beautifully crafted silk and bead work. Blue silk dipped down her chest showing off faint freckles splashed across her cleavage.

“Wow, that’s some dress,” Erend breathed, eyes drifting to her dome of a pregnant belly stretched over with the intricately beaded silk.

“Pavati went all out,” Aloy said, shimmying slightly to pull the dress down at her hips. “It might be a bit much.”

Erend’s fingers found the top curve of her belly, running them over the pebbled texture of the beadwork. “You look beautiful,” he breathed.

Aloy’s eyebrows arched up, a smile quirking her lips. “You look pretty nice yourself,” she said, reaching forward to fix the tie on his silk tunic, today in Carja red.

Erend was lost in the depths of her hazel eyes for a moment, one hand still on her belly, the other had found its way to her neck, thumb brushing below her ear. Smile widening, she leaned in when he went to kiss her.

“Are you aware that one year ago today we were not a couple yet?” Erend asked, pulling back enough to rest their foreheads against one another.

Aloy laughed. “We sort of were by the _end_ of the day,” she said. “Now look at us.” Her hand joined his on her pregnant tummy.

“Married and having a baby,” he said. “We didn't exactly take our time did we?”

Erend’s eyes were down turned, gazing upon her tummy. She let out a soft huff of a laugh before kissing the top of his head, nose brushing through the hair of his mohawk, breath warm on his skin when she spoke again. “Are those for me?”

“Oh, yes!” Erend stepped back from her to scoop up the bouquet of flowers from the bed. “Happy Anniversary, Moonflower.”

“Thank you, they're lovely.”

Aloy buried her face in among fragrant blooms, as Erend hitched an arm around her back, urging her out of their bedroom. He knew she wasn't particularly excited about a day out in public under the spotlight, but so far today she'd been in good spirits about the whole thing.

Aloy sank into one of the dining chairs while Erend went about filling a vessel with water for the flowers. He set it in the middle of the dining table, unrolling the flowers from their wrapping to slide them into the vase.

“Do you ever wish we’d taken more time?” Aloy asked, watching as he arranged the bouquet.

He nearly knocked over the flower arrangement, panic shooting through his veins. “Why? Do you?!” Erend choked this question out, eyes roving her face, attempting to discern her feelings on the matter.

“No.” Aloy shook her head, both hands on her belly, looking immensely amused by his reaction. “Time is a luxury I'm not usually granted anyhow.”

“I guess it never occurred to me how fast it all happened, because it felt…” Erend searched for the correct words, rinsing his hands in the kitchen wash basin.

“Like it was meant to be,” Aloy finished his thought, tucking a few loose strands of red hair behind her own ear.

Erend couldn't dry his hands fast enough, tossing the towel over his shoulder as he heaved his wife to her feet, and into his arms, kissing her.

Erend managed to coax them out of the house not long after that, Aloy’s bare freckled arm tucked into his as they walked. The Celebration was already in motion in many different directions. Live music was drifting from the market and as they walked along the southern overlook Erend could see many large decorative kites being flown up on the Alight.

They stepped into one of the gazebos to take in the view. Erend stood back and watched his wife’s eyes slide from the valley up to the Spire, in them sparkled curiosity at the kites, colorful feats of engineering that danced across the blue sky. She seemed particularly keen on one designed to look like a Stormbird.

Deciding Aloy didn't need to be making the walk up to the Spire as pregnant as she was, they meandered their way to the Sun-Palace, the heart of the Celebration. There would be food and people, but for Erend he thought about the comfortable cushioned bench for his wife.

“Well, well, well, if it isn't the heroes of the hour.”

The couple had made it to the final square before the crossing to the Palace when a familiar voice rang out over the busy street. People had to part for Brant and Anehita to reach them.

“If I remember correctly, you were up there fighting a year ago,” Erend said to Brant, squeezing Aloy against his side. “Same as us.”

“I also had to be carried down, if you remember,” Brant replied.

The group coalesced and together the four friends passed between the feather topped Carja guards and out onto the bridge. Erend knew even before Brant, who was in full Vanguard armor as acting Captain, stopped them on the bridge.

Both girls looked around confused. Erend looped an arm around Aloy’s back and pulled them to stand at the railing. Brant looked so nervous, licking his lips behind his neatly groomed goatee as he took both of Anehita’s hands in his.

She was in a pretty summery dress that fell above her olive tone knees. Wind blew across the valley laid out below them, rustling her curly hair.

“Brant, what're you -.” Anehita’s words died in her throats as the Vanguard sank down onto one knee, gloved hand fidgeting in a pocket until he finally freed the little leather pouch.

“Annie, I didn't know it was possible to be as happy as I am when I'm with you,” he said, fishing the ruby ring out and holding it between his thumb and fingers. “I don't want to even think about what my life would be like if we hadn't met.”

Anehita’s eyes were wide, staring down at the delicately made piece of Carja jewelry. She let out a small squeak. Aloy had her hand over her mouth, leaning heavily against Erend who knew his smile could likely be seen from miles away.

“Will you, please, marry me?” Brant asked, his hand shaking ever so slightly as he held the ring out to her.

Anehita suddenly ground into motion. “Yes!” she squealed, throwing her arms around him where he knelt on the bridge. “Yes, yes, yes, a hundred times yes!”

Brant nearly toppled backwards, his face lost in Annie’s curls. He had a time capturing her hand to slide on the ring and once he managed this he heaved them both back to their feet, Anehita kissing him.

“Oh,” Aloy gasped softly, turning her face into the silk at Erend shoulder. The freshly engaged couple were now kissing significantly more passionately than Erend had ever seen them do. Erend chuckled, pulling his wife tight against him, his hand sliding onto her domed belly.

It took a couple minutes for Anehita to come back to herself, ignoring the looks of passerby’s as she turned to show Aloy the ring.

“We have one more thing to celebrate now,” Erend said, clapping a hand on Brant’s shoulder. “What happened to doing it under the fireworks up on the Alight later?”

“Couldn't wait a moment longer.”

Both girls, who were bent looking at the ring, popped up at this and let out a cooing “aw” in unison.

——————

All of the terraces at the Palace were packed with people. Many of whom wanted, no  _needed_ to speak to Aloy and Erend. The pregnant Nora had to remind herself twice to smile and be gracious to the well wishers. Even Anehita was starting to look annoyed at the number of people, who were basically strangers, touching Aloy’s round protruding belly.

They all said the same sorts of things as they did this.

“Any day now!”

“Oh, you look ready to pop!”

“Bet you're ready to get this over with, huh?”

Aloy had never been more relieved to see Blameless Marad as he pushed through revelers to reach them. He looked put out with the effort, practically wedging himself between Aloy and a well-wisher reaching to touch her belly.

“Aloy, Erend, the King is of course expecting you on the top terrace,” the advisor said, with a small bow, gesturing towards the last run of stairs. He’d brought with him a pair of Carja guards who split the crowd easily.

“Thank you,” Aloy breathed, as she and her husband followed Marad through. Access to the royal sitting room was being controlled by another pair of guards, who attempted to waylay Brant and Anehita but Marad waved them through.

Here there was room to breath and space to move. Aloy let out an exhausted sigh, having felt like she'd run a mile. Erend, as attentive as ever, checked to make sure she was okay, gently touching her belly and leaning in to plant a kiss in her forehead.

“Let's get you something to eat, shall we?” he said before leaving her, heading for food spread tables tucked off to the side.

Avad was deep in conversation with some older Carja nobles, and though his eyes had flickered to Aloy’s party when they arrived, he made no moves to break away. He was in full Sun-King regalia, complete with the stiff back board that stood up from his shoulders. The ornate sun burst haloed around his crowned head.

“Well this is much better,” Brant said, looking around the significantly less crowded space.

“Those people had absolutely no sense of personal space,” Anehita said, her brow scrunched. Brant promptly kissed her there and she relaxed, allowing herself to be drawn against his side.

“I’m so happy for you two,” Aloy said, smiling at the couple, holding a twinge in her back.

“Thanks,” Annie said, both arms wrapped around Brant’s middle above the large round gut guard piece of his armor. “You’re back hurting? We should probably get you a seat.”

Aloy had no intention of arguing with this, she’d been off her feet most of the time the past month just about and had already done significantly more walking than usual. Her back and feet were feeling it, so she allowed herself to be ushered over to one of the cushioned benches. She let out a huff of exertion as she dropped herself into the seat.

Erend was back a moment later, looking approving that she was seated. He sat next to her, holding out a small plate of decadent finger food for her.

“Who’re those nobles the King’s talking to?” Brant asked, checking over his shoulder.

“All these nobles, could be anyone,” Erend said, not even sparing it a look, instead his eyes were on Aloy as she picked up a small puff looking pastry and bit into it. Her mouth was flooded with the sweet taste of some sort of creamy filling. “I’m surprised you two aren’t making rounds with the big news.”

Anehita let out a little squeak, looking down at her engagement ring on her finger, and then back up to Brant. She bounced up on the balls of her feet and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“I guess we should,” Brant said. “I saw several of the men down on the lower terraces. Gunnar, by the way, said you’d say no.”

Erend laughed, his hand moving slowly up and down Aloy’s lower back. It wasn’t a massage, yet it made her feel much better as she scarfed down another of the puffs.

“Well then we better go tell him how wrong he was,” Anehita said. “We’ll be back.”

“Believe me, I’m not going anywhere,” Aloy said. “Erend will have to haul me off this bench when he’s ready to go home.”

Brant snorted at this, then he eased an arm over Anehita’s shoulders and they drifted out of the royal sitting room. Aloy was glad to be sitting, and for a few minutes she and Erend sat undisturbed among Meridians most elite celebration attendees.

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked, as he placed the now empty hors d’oeuvre plate on the sitting room table.

“No thank you, it’ll just make me need to pee,” Aloy said.

“And we wouldn’t want that.” Avad’s voice was amused, as he approached with his arms open.

Erend sprung up to greet the King as was customary, but Aloy had no intention of prying her pregnant butt up off the soft cushion she was perched on. Avad didn’t seem to mind, as he released her husband from a brotherly hug and looked down upon her mound of a stomach.

“Almost there,” Aloy said, running fingers over the beaded curve of it.

“Well, it’s good to see both of you today, considering,” Avad said, with a friendly smile. “I don’t suppose I could steal Erend for a few minutes. I have a time sensitive matter I need to discuss in private.”

Erend was chewing the inside of his cheek, looking both confused and curious. He dropped his gaze to Aloy, a silent request for permission that made her swell with affection as she nodded.

She watched them go, not just off to speak away from her, but away from the sitting room entirely, disappearing down the stairs that led down into the lower levels of the Sun-Palace.

Aloy tried to settle a bit more comfortably on the bench, but her back still wasn’t cooperating even now that she was seated. She absentmindedly scanned the sitting room, taking in the little pockets of people gathered talking, and in many instances drinking from shining goblets.

Marad was mingling among them, she figured he likely loved these type of events. An opportunity to make acquaintances and strengthen existing ones. A chance to slide into conversations among the nobles.

It all seemed so very boring to Aloy. A servant came by and cleared her plate. She waved him off when he asked if she needed anything. The baby had risen, Aloy splayed fingers to feel the kicks.

“Oof, Easy there.” For a moment Aloy curled in on herself as her stomach lurched, likely a combination of the sugary pastries and her unborn child’s well placed kick. The baby settled and she relaxed again, leaning back on one arm set firmly behind her on the cushioned bench.

Erend has been gone a while, she realized as the minutes seemed to stretch on, she wondered what they could be talking about so long. She wouldn’t have minded if she wasn’t now thirsty and regretting not accepting the offer of something to drink before Erend had left.

She eyed the beverage table over her shoulder, making herself get up. She made it one step before realizing. Her stomach cramped again, spreading through her core, a firm pressure that took her breath away.

Aloy was having contractions.

She did as she remembered Anehita saying she should, breathing through it, sinking back down on the bench until it subsided, both hands gripping her beaded silk belly. Fleetingly she thought of Erend and his pocket watch.

Again Aloy searched out Marad in the crowd, rising back to her feet. She had to sidle through people to reach him, her muscles loosening again with each step. He looked past an ornately dressed woman he was speaking to and seemed to know in an instant.

“Excuse me,” he said abruptly, pushing past the woman.

“Baby... is coming,” Aloy said between deep breaths.

“Where is Erend?” His ponytail swished as he slid an arm over her shoulders to lead her out of the gathered people, all the while looking about them for her husband.

“With the King,” she answered. “Somewhere. I don’t know.” Her back was throbbing, and she couldn’t think straight. Anehita and Brant were somewhere on the lower terraces in a gridlock of people, and Aloy was going into labor without her midwife or husband nearby.

“Alright, stay calm-,” Marsd began, then he leapt back making a surprised sound of mild disgust.

Aloy felt the wash of liquid down her legs, dampening the inside of the beautiful dress, splashing on the flagstone beneath her feet. Her water had broken where they stood just inside the doorway to the sitting room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my we are actually here. It’s actually happening. Next chapter Aloy and Erend become parents. 
> 
> Thanks for continuing to read and a special thanks to my loyal commenters.


	15. A Change in (birth) Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *quietly hands you a paper bag*

Erend was surprised as the King walked him straight out of the sitting room and down into the bowels of the Sun-Palace. Whatever it was Avad wished to discuss be did not want to be overheard or disturbed, leading them all the way to his personal quarters at which point the Carja guards who were escorting him fell back.

Swallowing a number of curious questions, Erend stepped through the heavy wooden door and heard it latch closed behind him.

The Sun-King’s personal quarters consisted of multiple rooms: his own wash room, his bed chamber, and the room they were in which was a study of sorts. Along two of the walls were shelves packed with books, the far wall was entirely windows carved through the mesa rock and looking out upon the Northern valley. A small table stood here, housing a number of decadent looking liquor bottles.

“Would you like a drink?” Avad asked, going to pour himself one in a crystal glass.

“I… haven't been drinking,” Erend answered.

“I know, but one won't kill you,” the King said, pouring a serving into a second glass even though Erend had not agreed to it. He eyed it dubiously but took it so as not to be rude, wondering what it was his boss could possibly need to talk about that he had to have a drink in him first.

Avad took a deep sip, gazing out the windows for a moment before turning to Erend. “To another fine year,” he said, extending his glass out.

Erend clinked his to it and took a small sip. The liquor was the best shards could buy and tasted as such, going down smooth. More silence followed this, the King downing more of his drink while the Oseram eyed him.

“Something tells me you didn't bring me all the way down here just to have a private drink,” Erend said, taking a second small taste of the liquor.

“Maybe it's too soon,” Avad said, as if this made a lick of sense to Erend. The King then downed the last of his drink in one go, turning to pour himself another.

“Too soon for what exactly?” Erend asked, leaning on the window ledge adjacent to the bar table.

Avad stared down into the bottle before sliding the glass top back in place. “Too soon to be considering it,” he said, shaking his head and picking up his freshly poured glass. “Too soon to tell you. I don't know.”

The King took a deep sip, again staring out the windows.

“Try me,” Erend said, running a hand down his mohawk.

Finally, Avad turned to look him in the eye. “Do you remember the conversation we had the day you asked for time off duty from the Vanguard?”

Blinking, Erend answered slowly: “About… Ersa?”

“That’s the one,” Avad said, sipping the drink again. “You said something that day I suppose I needed to hear. You told me Ersa wouldn't want me to be lonely forever.”

“I did say that, and I meant it,” Erend said, ignoring the cold grip of sadness upon his heart that always came when someone mentioned his sister.

“Erend… I’ve…” The King hesitated, setting his drink down. “I've met someone.”

  
“Oh!” Erend hadn't been expecting this. “Who… who is she?”

Suddenly he understood why the King wasn't sure how to handle the conversation, and couldn't imagine how he might do so himself should the roles have been reversed.

“Her parents are influential and respected Carja nobles. They helped finance recovery efforts both after the liberation and after the battle at the Spire,” Avad said. “I've met with them a few times in the past couple years, but up until recently their daughter was always away: Ban Ur, Sunfall, Mainspring. She's a humanitarian you see.”

“I'm not sure what that means,” Erend said, feeling his brow furrow.

“She helps people,” Avad replied, and now there was a small smile forming on his lips. “Whether it's teaching children or feeding homeless families, she does what she can for those less fortunate than her family.”

“Have you and her…” Erend trailed off as the King was already shaking his head no.

“I haven't so much as kissed her,” Avad said. “That's… not how these matches work. Though her parents seemed thrilled when I requested their permission to court her.”

Matches. Courting. Erend had never been happier to not be of any kind of noble descent. No wonder Ersa had felt as if she would never fit in at the place beyond being captain of the Vanguard. He was attempting to formulate a response to this revelation when a series of hammering knocks made both men jump and look around.

The door burst open and in marched four Carja guards in their full shining armor, with them was the round faced captain.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your luminance,” he said, as the door was secured again behind the entering guards. “We have a bit of a developing situation and we need to secure you until it can be fully investigated and diffused.”

Erend had been leaned against the windows, but at these words he straightened up and made to cross the room. If there was any kind of situation he needed to be with Aloy.

“What sort of situation?” the King was asking, before the Carja captain could answer Erend was being shoulder checked back from the door by the feather headed guard there.

“I’m afraid you can’t leave,” the Captain said, inserting himself between Erend and his man, who stood defiantly in front of the door his weapon held in front of his armored chest. “Protocol. This room, the King and everyone in it stays put until the danger passes.”

“What _is_ the danger?” Avad asked, passing Erend on his way back to the bar table, where he picked up his abandoned glass and downed the liquor within in one gulp.

—————-

Aloy stood stunned in the moments after her water broke: one part physically relieved from the release, one part panicked as she had no idea where her husband or her midwife was. Her stomach felt twisted, the pain in her back coming in strange surges.

Guests were looking around at them, Aloy was gripping Marad’s arm with enough force that he winced slightly.

“I NEED EREND,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“Not to be argumentative but I think you need your midwife more,” Marad replied. “Where is-.”

“I'm here! I'm here!”

Anehita must have had some sort of sixth sense for the situation because she'd come running up from the lower terraces at just the right moment. She slid to a halt next to them, her eyes on the disgusting liquid mess pooling between Aloy’s silk slippered feet.

“Annie-,” Aloy breathed. “Water… broke…”

“I see that, come on we need to get you out of here,” the midwife said. “BRANT!” This last word was bellowed down to where he was still climbing the stairs through the crowd.

“We have to find… Erend,” Aloy said, still talking through long deep breaths that seemed to ease some of the cramping, but not much.

“I thought he was with you,” Anehita said, placing a surprisingly firm arm around Aloy’s shoulders and turning her out of the sitting room door and into the bright afternoon sunlight.

“Went off with the King,” Aloy explained, allowing herself to be led away, the walking somehow helping the sparks of tightness and pain that were flaring through her core.

“Leave that part to me,” Marad said, talking more to Anehita than to Aloy. “You two get her to the hospital and I will notify him. Hopefully he won't be far behind.”

Aloy didn't want to leave the Sun-Palace without her husband, but she was realizing quickly that she had little choice in the matter. They'd already reached the top of the first run of stairs, Brant in the lead separating the party goers as he went. “Move it or lose it,” he kept saying. “Lady having a baby coming through.”

Aloy looked back to Marad, wanting to entreat him to hurry finding Erend, but he was already taking to a pair of Carja guards. Then the crowd of Celebration attendees closed behind them on the stairs, obscuring the view to the top terrace.

“When was your last contraction?” Anehita asked, as they made the turn on the landing to descend the next set of stairs.

“Maybe fifteen minutes ag—,” Aloy began, then abruptly she felt another coming. Everything tightened, the pain was worse than the last, her back felt like it was on fire. “Or… right… now…”

Anehita was holding her up, which was a good thing because Aloy felt like her legs might give out.

“Breath, just breath,” Annie said.

“I knew I shouldn't have come to this,” Aloy moaned. Guests all around were looking to see what was going on. Brant was keeping them back as best as he could, but it was with relief that the contraction began to ebb so they could move again.

“Clear the path, please,” Brant called ahead, clearly starting to lose patience with the struggle.

They'd finally reached the bottom of the stairs, the crowd around them thinning as they reached the bridge at last. The walk to the hospital from the Palace usually only took about ten minutes, it was bound to take longer in this state, even with Anehita pushing her along.

Aloy spared the palace one last look over her shoulder as they passed through the gateway at the other end of the bridge, hoping Erend wouldn't be far behind.

—————-

“What _is_ the danger?” Avad had asked, significantly more calmly than Erend could have done at the moment.

“A man was found in the bowels beneath the Sun-Palace,” the Carja captain explained. “He carried on him a myriad of weapons and a device hooked to blaze we believe to be a bomb.”

“A bomb?” Erend sputtered, his blood running cold. “What were they trying to do?”

“The guy looks to be former Eclipse, he's got markings on his clothing and armor that match up,” the captain said. “It's clear his intention was to reach the top terrace and cause some sort of injury to possibly many of the attendees. He might have been working alone, or there's an accomplice which is why we are securing the King until we can be sure the danger has passed. He would be a prime target.”

“As would Aloy,” Erend barked, nerves suddenly very raw. “My wife.”

He tried to leave again. All rational thoughts gone from his mind. If there was danger, he couldn't stay here. He should have never walked away from her. How long had he been gone at this stage? Surely she would worry, especially once she realized the palace was being locked down.

It took two of the Carja guards to stop him this time, seizing him under his armpits and hauling him back away from the chamber door. He fought them until Avad’s voice rang through the room.

“That’s enough!” The guards released Erend, but the King had come to stand between him and the door. “Please Erend, I need you to calm down.”

He gave the Oseram a long cool look, until Erend’s shoulder sagged, and he nodded.

“Captain, could you at least try to secure Aloy, bring her here,” Avad asked. “Im sure you’re aware she’s very pregnant at this stage and as you can see her husband is very protective as a result.”

Erend bristled at this but stood firm. He wasn’t fool enough to keep attempting to leave after the King himself had told him to simmer.

“I will go and see if I can find her myself,” the Carja Captain said. “But they’ve likely began evacuating the palace at this point and she may have gotten lost in the shuffle.”

With that, the squat faced captain gave a bow and left the chamber, leaving behind the four guards. Erend was staring at the door, heart beating against his ribs. They were evacuating the Celebration and Aloy didn’t know where he was. He hardly noticed Avad returning to the bar, that is until a glass was being pressed into his hand.

“I’m sure Aloy is fine,” he said, pouring himself a drink as well. “I’m sorry I pulled you away from her.”

Erend swished the dark liquor around in the glass. “You didn’t know,” he said. “And I hope you’re right.”

—————-

“And here we are,” Anehita said, as Brant pushed open the door into a room at the Meridian hospital to reveal a low bed with an angled back.

Aloy hardly remembered the walk, even between the contractions there was no such thing as comfort. She could only hope that getting off her feet would at least take some of the stress off of her lower back.

“We made it,” she breathed, both hands clinging to the beaded silk sides of her belly.

“Brant, I’m going to need your help getting her out of this dress,” Anehita said, bringing Aloy to the edge of the bed. “Here sweetie, hold on to the back.”

Suddenly looking very uncomfortable, Brant’s eyes moved from Aloy to Anehita and he froze. “Annie, I...”

Anehita was opening cabinets in the room, looking for something. “Baby, there’s no time to argue about this,” she said, pulling what appeared to be clean sheets from one. “If Erend were here, it would be him, but he’s not so start unbuttoning.”

Aloy squeezed her eyes closed, one hand gripping the back frame of the bed so hard her knuckles were white, the other beneath her round belly as if she might be able to hold all the pain and pressure in somehow. She could feel Brant unbuttoning the dress, the back opening up, cool air brushing across the skin between her shoulders.

“Alright, here we’re going to slide this on as the dress comes off,” Anehita said, now that the bed was fitted with fresh linens she was back with a smock like thing. Together she and Brant, his eyes firmly on the ceiling, slid down the straps of the dress, and Anehita covered Aloy’s bare chest with the smock, helping her to slip her arms through.

“Annie-,” was all the warning Aloy managed to give her midwife as another contraction came on, she fell forward, elbows finding the padding on the bed. It took her a moment to realize the cry echoing in the room was her own, as her body tensed, and everything hurt.

Once it passed, she opened her eyes and all she could see was a curtain of ginger hair: her own as she was still bent over the bed, head bowed.

“You’re doing great,” Anehita said, a hand rubbing her back. “Let me get this dress the rest of the way off and get you in the bed.”

Aloy let out a tired nod, and straightened up so the midwife could pull the garment down the rest of the way, Brant decidedly still looking elsewhere, now at the door with his back to them.

“Where the hell is Erend?” Aloy asked, her voice coming out as if she was deflating. She stepped out of the dress, and with Anehita’s help managed to hitch her hip up and slide into the bed.

“I’ll go,” Brant said, glancing tentatively over his shoulder to see if it was safe to look, which for the moment it was as Anehita sidled a pillow behind Aloy’s shoulders. “I’ll find him, bring him back.”

Anehita nodded, waving him off then seeing to positioning Aloy’s legs, bending them at the knee and placing the heels in little divots at the end of the bed. The midwife was calm, purposeful, and it was probably the only thing keeping Aloy from completely panicking.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Brant’ll find him,” Anehita said. “Things are moving along, but you’re not there yet. It’s going to be fine.”

Aloy nodded, closed her eyes, and let her head fall back against the pillow knowing the next contraction would be any minute now.

—————-

Minutes seemed to stretch into hours as Erend waited, trapped in the King’s private study. He’d taken one sip of the second glass of liquor before realizing it would be a mistake and setting it down. But the longer things dragged on the more tempted he was to finish it.

Avad was doing the pacing for him, having finally relieved himself of the ridiculously ornate back piece, walking from one wall full of books to the other. Erend sat against the window frame, shoulders hunched, eying the door.

It opened at last to reveal not his wife, but Marad. He looked mildly ruffled, and had to jump to the side of the door before the Carja guards slammed it back tightly closed.

“I should have realized you were locked away down here,” Marad said, looking to the King. “Safe and secure. Erend.” His dark eyes snapped to where Erend stood. “Your wife went into labor before the evacuation began.”

Erend was sure the bottom of his stomach had dropped out. “Where is she?” He managed, dragging himself from where he’d been leaning.

“They left for the hospital before the chaos,” Marad said. “Probably doesn’t even know what’s going on. Meanwhile a second device was found. It’s been disarmed but the search continues.”

Shuddering into motion, Erend had a single minded goal now. If Aloy was having the baby, he needed to be there. The guard in front of the door squared off to him. “Haven’t we been through this?” he growled, holding his glittering Carja axe diagonally across his own chest, ready to push Erend back.

“Didn’t you hear him, my wife is in LABOR,” Erend boomed, brandishing a finger. “The way I see it you’ve got two choices: you can let me go, or you can kill me. So how do you want to do this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologize for my post chapter note last chapter in which I claimed they would become parents this chapter. It was an unintentional lie as what I had decided to do sort of ran away on its own. 
> 
> Had to throw one last roller coaster drop at you guys. I looooove you. 
> 
> And thank you for continuing to read my torture. XD


	16. The Birth

Aloy grit her teeth, breathing through the pain and pressure of her latest contraction. Her hair had grown sweaty, clinging to the side of her face and neck as she rolled her cheek against the pillow, eyes clamped firmly closed.

The contractions were getting closer and closer together, Aloy suspected if she’d had more of her wits about her she could've started predicting them, but as it was her mind couldn't focus on such a task.

Anehita had thrown a gown over her party dress and was somewhere down between Aloy’s legs. All modesty had clearly gone out the window at this stage.

“You're doing great,” Anehita said in a soothing voice, as the contraction waned. “It's almost time to start pushing.”

Snapping her eyes open, Aloy was quick to reply to this. “No, not without Erend,” she said.

“Aloy, the baby isn't going to-,” Anehita broke off as there was a loud pounding sound getting ever closer beyond the door that led to the hospital at large. The midwife was just rising to her feet to investigate when the door burst open with such force one of the hinges broke.

Erend, red faced and panting for breath, half tumbled through. “I'm here. I'm here.”

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Aloy practically shouted, as he tripped over his feet to reach her bedside.

“Doesn't matter, I'm here now,” he said, a soothing hand coming to her back. “I'm sorry I'm late.”

“Erend,” Anehita barked. “THE DOOR.”

Aloy didn't have the energy to care that the door was flung wide, and through it she could hear voices. Instead she was looking up to her husband as the redness drained from his face and he caught his breath. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, which was damp with sweat.

“I got the door,” Aloy heard Brant saying. She looked over in time to see him tug it closed from the outside. Anehita saw to it that it was secure before returning to her low stool at the end of the table.

Erend was still at Aloy’s shoulder, and suddenly she felt less alone in the situation. He had slid an arm over her shoulders, his other hand finding hers. She wrapped her fingers around his.

When the next contraction came Erend’s cry of surprise mingled with his wife’s, as she squeezed his hand a bit tighter than she'd intended to to get through the pain. Every contraction felt as if her body was playing tug of war with itself and no one was properly winning.

“Alright, it's time,” Anehita said. “When the next one comes, I want you to push.”

Aloy nodded, letting her head fall back against Erend’s arm. “I was afraid you were going to miss it,” she breathed. He turned and kissed her forehead again.

“Not happening,” he said. “I’m right here. And you can do this.”

The next contraction was already coming, the tightness flaring up her back, the feeling as if her insides were twisting returning. Her head popped up, teeth clenching as she breathed through them.

“Now Aloy.” Anehita’s voice sounded like it was miles away.

Aloy took in a deep breath and followed her body’s urge to push. The grunt she let out was positively primeval, but for a moment the pain seemed to serve purpose. She took another breath, continuing to push until she felt the tension of the contraction easing.

“Alright, rest for a second,” Anehita said. “You’re doing great.”

Trying to take these words as truth, Aloy leaned back against Erend again. He immediately began rubbing her shoulder, squeezing her hand, kissing her sweaty temple.

Then the next contraction was there, and she was pushing again. They repeated this cycle four times, and Aloy was exhausted from the effort, crying softly into Erend’s shoulder.

“Alright, you’re not going to push for a bit,” Anehita said. “The baby is starting to crown, we need to allow a moment for your body to prepare.”

Aloy thought this was a very nice way of saying to keep her from ripping her privates in two, though honestly it mildly felt like she already was. It stung in a way she had never experienced.

When the next contraction came the urge to push came with it, and Aloy found it nearly as hard to keep herself from doing so as it would have been to succumb to the urge. Anehita was telling her to breath for what felt like the millionth time and Aloy _did_ as it was all she _could_ do.

Breath through it.

She took two cycles off like this, breathing through the contractions and pressure before Anehita gave her the go ahead to push again. Erend helped hold her back up away from the bed as she pressed down. Through the discomfort she could feel the slow progression, feel the stretch and slight release.

“Erend, do you want to see the head?” Anehita asked.

Almost tentatively, Erend slid his arm from Aloy and came around the end of the table. His eyes flew wide, gasping.

“Moonflower, the baby has red hair,” he said, bringing his eyes up to Aloy’s. “Just the smallest tuft of red hair.”

Shock rolled over her, only mildly overshadowed by the next contraction coming on. _He could see their baby’s hair._

Somehow it was easier to push after this. Her husband was back by her side in a flash, supporting her as she resumed. Between each contraction he spoke encouraging words. “You’re doing so good. The baby is almost here. I love you.”

Time was a concept that Aloy couldn’t perceive during this process. All she knew was pain, and twisting pressure, and pushing, and the briefest windows of respite between all these.

“You’re going to feel me do a slight tug to deliver the baby’s shoulders,” Anehita said after a while. “Won’t be long after that.”

More pushing, but it was getting easier, the stinging less. She didn’t even realize the last push was her last until the high pitched cry echoed through the room. Anehita was slowly rising from her stool, held in her arms was a slimy, wriggling, crying, completely perfect and beautiful baby.

“You guys were right, it’s a girl.”

Aloy couldn’t take her eyes away. Anehita summoned Erend forward, nodding to supplies set waiting on the sideboard. He helped clean and wrap the still crying baby, then Anehita transferred the bundle into Erend’s arms so that she could cut the umbilical cord.

He didn’t speak, just looked down captivated, rocking their newborn baby. When he looked up Aloy could see the trail of tears down his cheeks. He brought their daughter forward to where she lie exhausted against the back of the bed.

Aloy’s arms were outstretched, and with great care Erend transferred their daughter into them. Her little eyes were still closed, arms moving in slow aimless motions. Aloy tucked her closer in her arms, feeling the warmth against her as the baby eased its crying. The tuft of red hair on the top of the baby’s head was still wet but Aloy couldn’t help but run gentle fingers over it.

Erend had slid his arm around her again, his cheek against his wife’s as they looked down on their child.

“She’s a perfect little Moonblossom,” he whispered.

Aloy let out a shaky laugh. “Moonblossom?”

Erend looked up from the baby, smiling broadly. “Well if you’re really not going to let us name her for half a year, we have to call her something,” he said.

Aloy smiled back, then she closed the short distance between their faces and kissed him, their baby nestling against her warm, safe, and healthy.

—————-

Erend couldn't believe just how much he already loved his newborn baby daughter. Everything about her was completely and utterly perfect, from her tiny little hands to her chubby baby thighs, he was captivated by all of it. Even now, as she suckled on Aloy’s breast, he couldn't keep his eyes off of the newborn.

His arms were around both Aloy and the baby. They were wedged into a bed at the hospital still, mother and baby had been moved to a more appropriate room, with a functional door, after the delivery. Erend was supporting Aloy with one arm around her back and the baby with the other, cupping his wife’s hand from below as the baby fed.

“What does it feel like?” he asked.

“It's hard to describe,” Aloy said, turning her face to his with a wistful smile. “It doesn't _hurt_ but it feels… strange.”

That had explained absolutely nothing, but Erend didn't care. Aloy looked so tired he simply kissed her forehead and let her sink back down into his shoulder pressing her head into the curve of his neck.

“Now don't you get too attached to those, Moonblossom,” he said. “They're mine again once you get older.”

“ _Erend_ ,” Aloy chastised, but her tone was playful and any sternness was lost as she was overcome by a yawn.

All the while the baby suckled away, making the cutest slurping sounds.

Aloy relaxed further against him, and soon Erend realized his arm was now serving as sole support beneath the baby, as hers started to go slack. “Aloy, are you falling asleep?” he asked in a soft voice.

Stirring slightly, she mumbled something he couldn't understand. Erend squeezed her shoulder and fell quiet, letting the baby continue to nurse from the now snoozing mother. He wondered how he would know when she was done.

Turned out it was fairly easy to tell, as after a few minutes the baby pulled away from Aloy’s nipple on her own, opening and closing her mouth as she swallowed. Then she opened her big hazel eyes and looked up at Erend, pupils unfocused still but definitely looking at her father’s face.

“Hey there, beautiful,” Erend cooed, heart overflowing with love as he looked right back at her. “Let's try to be quiet and let momma sleep.”

Waving a tiny hand, she continued to stare up at him with those eyes that looked so much like Aloy’s. The baby gurgled, which was as close to a response as Erend had expected. He took in the roundness of her cheeks, wondering if some day she'd grow up to have freckles to match her mother's.

Erend lost track of time, letting his wife sleep against him. He'd shifted her hospital top back up to cover her bare breast and sidled the baby fully onto his arm, but aside from that allowed his wife to sleep on undisturbed.

The sun had long set by the time Anehita came to check on the little family.

“Aw, isn't this cute,” she said, smiling as her eyes slid over where Aloy was tucked against Erend’s chest asleep. “Here, allow me.”

With the midwife’s help, Erend was able to slide from the bed without waking his wife. He tucked blankets gently over her sleeping form while Anehita set the baby into one of the hospital bassinets and scooted it a little bit closer to the bed.

“So… Brant told me why you were stuck at the Palace,” she said, as Erend joined her to look down at the baby, who was starting to look as sleepy as her mother. “And why there are so many guards in the hall.”

Erend glanced over his shoulder to where Aloy still slept on the bed. “She doesn't know yet,” he said. “They searched the house while we've been here, turned up nothing. There are guards there now as well.”

Anehita nodded. “Aloy will probably be okay to take this little one home tomorrow,” she said, tucking the blankets around the baby, who was definitely falling asleep now. “If you wanted to prepare the apartment, now would be the time.”

As much as he didn't want to be away from his wife and child so soon, he was curious to see the state the guards might have left the apartment in. Anehita seemed to sense his hesitation to leave however.

“You also need to get some sleep yourself,” she said, eying him. “You’ll have a crying baby there to rob you of sleep soon enough.”

“Are you kidding? This little lady can keep me up all night if she wants,” Erend said, leaning over the baby.

The midwife didn’t bother hiding her amusement as she replied. “You say that now.” She all but pulled him away from his now sleeping infant to send him on his way. “Don’t worry, I’ll be one room over if she needs me. You go get that nursery ready, okay?”

Anehita did not wait for him to agree before shutting the door on him. The guards in the hall were all chuckling at this as he went by.

As it turned out, it was a very good thing Erend had some time to tend to the apartment post-inspection. The guards had clearly been in a hurry. Drawers were open with their contents sticking out, the bedding in the crib was tossed asunder, even the vase of flowers had been knocked over on the dining table.

It took a while to tidy the place back into its previous condition, and then after he moved the bassinet, that had been in the nursery since the shower, into the living room. He slid it up next to the end of the couch so that Aloy could sit and have the baby near.

Erend had intended, despite Anehita’s instructions, to return to the hospital that night once he was done situating things at home. He made the mistake of sitting down on the sofa, to see if the bassinet was properly placed. Then he sat back, thinking he would just rest for a little while before heading back.

He wouldn’t wake up until the next morning.

—————-

Aloy had no memory of falling asleep. She awoke to the baby crying shortly before sunrise. Her body ached, but she sat up nonetheless, swinging her legs from the bed.

Before she found her feet Anehita was rushing in, also apparently roused by the sound, her hair clearly bed mussed.

“Oh, you’re awake! How do you feel?” Anehita waved for Aloy to stay put, and went to check on the baby. “As I suspected, we have our first dirty diaper.”

“I ache down there,” Aloy answered. It felt mildly like she had broken her pelvis, everything from her waist down burned in the background, but it was mild compared to her need to hold her daughter.

“I know, honey. We will talk about some things you can do, and take to ease the discomfort,” Anehita said. “But, if you’re up for standing for a minute, you can help me change your daughter’s first diaper.”

It was easy to stand up after that, Aloy let out an audible groan as she did so. Fortunately once she’d gotten to her feet she found standing no less comfortable than sitting. She tugged down the thin hospital smock she was wearing and joined Anehita.

The midwife took her time showing the new mother exactly how to remove the diaper without making too much of a mess. They cleaned the infants tiny bottom and then Aloy tied on a fresh cloth diaper before scooping her daughter fully into her arms.

The baby squirmed, and made a series of soft gurgling exclamations as Aloy settled the infant gently against her chest. Anehita seemed to read her mind, going to adjust the back of the unique bed so that it was angled up allowing Aloy to sit up in it.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Anehita said, before departing the room and leaving the new mother with her baby.

Aloy spent a long time just examining every detail of her daughters face. The almond shape of her hazel eyes and the nose that Aloy swore looked a great deal like a miniature version of her husband’s. She smoothed out the light dusting of ginger hair, smiling so broadly her cheeks nearly hurt.

When the door opened, Aloy looked up to see a bleary eyed Erend hastily stepping inside. His face lit up at the sight before him, crossing the room quickly, hitching a hip up on the edge of the bed.

His arms enveloped both Aloy and the baby easily as he bestowed a kiss upon her temple.

“Good morning,” Aloy breathed, enjoying the feel of Erend’s facial hair against her cheek as they looked down upon their bundle of joy. “Did you get some sleep? Annie told me she sent you home to get ready and rest.”

“I did yes,” Erend said, running gentle fingers down the infants chubby arm, then cupping her tiny baby hand under his. “Did she also tell you we’d be able to take this little Moonblossom home later today?”

Aloy thought her smile had been big before, but watching Erend gazing down upon their daughter and watching his affection grow and bloom with each passing moment was filling Aloy with a swell of love for her husband.

“She did,” Aloy said after a moment, “and I’m so excited.”

Erend pulled back, his hand rising to Aloy’s face, brushing back hair she was sure looked wild at the moment. Erend looked into her eyes, smiling. “I love you, so much.”

“I love you, too,” Aloy replied, already leaning into him as his mouth found hers. Erend tightened his arm around her back, as their lips moved together, familiar and warm. A long passionate kiss that only dissolved as the baby, still tucked in Aloy’s arms, began to fuss.

Erend chuckled against her lips as they parted, returning their attention to the infant. He ducked his head and bestowed what Aloy imagined was a very hairy kiss upon the baby’s forehead.

“Don’t worry little one, I love you very much too,” he said. Somehow this seemed to settle her, her cries subsiding back into gurgling mouth sounds.

As far as Aloy was concerned, their first day as a family was off to a perfect start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *wipes eyes* Thanks for reading.


	17. The First Day at Home

The journey home with the baby turned out to be significantly more of an endeavor than Erend could have anticipated. He'd gone home to fetch the stitched leather cross body sling Teb had made them. This allowed Aloy to carry the infant across her without having to hold and support with her arms the whole time.

Anehita helped the new mother settle the baby into the carrier. Aloy was in one of her early maternity dresses in blue silk, as her tummy wasn't completely gone, adjusting the sling strap on her shoulder so it lay across the silk of the dress instead of her bare skin.

“Sweetie, can you tighten it a bit?” Aloy asked, turning her back to him so he could adjust how it was buckled.

“How’s that?” he asked, over her shoulder, and when she nodded he sidled up right behind her to look down at their daughter tucked in the sling. “How about you, Moonblossom? Comfy in there?”

The infant gurgled and Aloy twisted her neck to give Erend an affectionate kiss on the cheek. For a moment he closed his eyes, and nodded his head to press his forehead into her hair at the shoulder. They were about to take their daughter home for the first time, and through the exhaustion from the past couple days, Erend was feeling immensely excited.

Anehita was checking to make sure the baby was situated. “Looks like you are all set to go,” she said, smiling up at the couple. “Brant and I will stop by tomorrow, but tonight you three should settle in at home.”

“Home,” Aloy repeated in a wistful voice. “That’s right baby girl we are going home.” The new mother bounced slightly, her pale fingers running across the newborns tuft of ginger hair.

Erend slid an arm around her back, pulling a bag full of Aloy’s things up onto his opposite shoulder to carry. He led her out into the hall, where the guards snapped back against the walls so they could pass, before following in the tiny family’s wake.

Aloy glanced over her shoulder at this, then up to Erend with a quizzical look. He still hadn’t filled her totally in on the events that had taken place in the background of her going into labor, and wasn’t about to do so in transit. So he promised to explain when they got home.

They were moving through the hospital reception area then, and his wife looked very much like she wanted to push him to discuss it now. The baby began to fuss though, as the sunlight struck her face through the front windows, distracting Aloy.

Then they were out on the afternoon streets of Meridian and couldn’t have discussed it properly even if they’d wanted to. Instead Erend led them in the direction of home, as Aloy was having a hard time keeping her eyes on where they were going.

Erend was having trouble with this as well, but the draw of being in the privacy of their home at last kept him focused. He ignored the guards that were tailing them, stole occasional glances at Aloy as she tended to their infant daughter strapped across her, and guided them home.

People on the street looked around as they passed, he saw faces lighting up as they noticed the baby. Some looked as if they wanted to approach but the guards with them gave the silent signal that they shouldn’t. Erend was grateful for this as they were able to reach the stairs up to their apartment without interruption.

Aloy seemed to surface from a fog, looking up from the squirming baby in it’s sling to climb the stairs. There was one last Carja armored guard standing post up top, he gave a small bow of his feather topped head and opened the front door.

Once it closed behind them, Aloy turned, bouncing once more the bundle against her. “Do I want to know why there are guards everywhere?” she asked.

Erend’s eyes fell away from hers, he stepped forward to look down into the sling. Their daughter was very much awake, her wide eyes sliding unfocused from one face to another. Her forehead was pale but splotched with red, her tiny eyebrows scrunched.

“Let’s get her settled in the bassinet, and I’ll explain,” Erend said, catching one of the infants tiny hands and pressing a broad thumb into her palm until tiny baby fingers were very nearly wrapped around it.

Aloy let him ease the baby from the sling before she removed it.

Every time Erend held the baby he was filled with an intense warmth, affection building in his chest, happiness overflowing. The fact he could have made something so tiny and so perfect was baffling to him. He nestled her into the crook of his arm, and bent down to take a deep whiff of the top of her round head, she made soft gurgling noises.

Aloy had gone and hung up the sling, and when he finally looked up she was smiling as she returned to them. Instead of reaching for the baby, she reached for him, her hand cupping the side of his face.

They spent a long moment standing like this, the baby tucked between them. Erend stooped to kiss her, hand coming up to tame her wild hair. She smiled against his lips as they parted. Together they transferred their daughter into the bassinet, then Erend stepped back to watch as Aloy leaned over to tuck the little blankets around the baby.

“I can’t believe we made her,” Aloy said, straightening up and turning to him.

“You made her,” Erend said. “I did very little I assure you.” He eased Aloy back from the bassinet, and into his arms, holding just her for the first time since she’d given birth.

Aloy melted against him, her head tucking under his chin, her arms snaking around his middle, fingers gripping the back of his striped shirt. “You did plenty,” she murmured into his chest. “And now you’re gonna tell me what the hell is going on. I had a baby, I’m not BLIND.”

Erend laughed, squeezing her gently against him. They sat down on the sofa, within arms reach of the bassinet, and Erend explained. He told her about the bombs they’d found, and the man they apprehended. He told her about being sequestered with the King.

“It wasn’t until Marad found us that I even got word you’d gone into labor,” Erend said. “At which point they’d already evacuated the Palace.”

Aloy’s eyes were wide, letting it all sink in. She still looked tired, one hand gently rocking the bassinet, the other gripping one of his. “So do they think he was working alone?” Aloy asked, then she let out a huff of a laugh. “No, of course they don’t, hence all the guards.”

“Hopefully that’s all precautionary,” Erend assured her. “The King just wanted us to feel secure.”

She nodded, eyes falling to the baby who was now starting to doze off in the bassinet as it rocked. “Looks like she feels perfectly secure,” Aloy said in a soft voice, her worried frown turning up at the edges.

“Just taking a little afternoon nap,” Erend said, fondly. “Tell you what, why don’t you take a bath while she sleeps.”

Aloy turned to him. “That would be lovely,” she said. “I feel like a total mess.”

“Well, if it's any consolation, you're a very beautiful mess,” Erend said, and was rewarded with a soft kiss on his cheek.

It took her a minute to go, leaning over the bassinet and checking the sleeping infant. Eventually she tore herself away, giving Erend a loving look over her shoulder as she disappeared into the washroom.

Erend slid into Aloy’s seat, taking over rocking the bassinet, peering down at the baby. She had her face turned away from the sitting room windows, through which afternoon sunlight still streamed. Her chubby arms were flopped out on either side of her, chest rising and falling with each breath.

He had intended to begin dinner prep, instead he watched his daughter sleep.

“I love how you can't keep your eyes off of her.”

Erend nearly jumped out of his skin, having not realized just how long he'd been keeping watch there. Aloy had clearly finished bathing. She stood barefoot, and wearing only a silk robe, toweling her hair dry. It was a wild untamed mess of dark ginger locks, all braids undone.

“She's just so perfect,” he said. “Just like her mother.”

Aloy met his eyes, a smile creeping over her lips, then she draped the towel over the back of one of their dining chairs and hurried over to join him.

—————-

Aloy awoke once again having no memory of going to bed. She remembered Erend cooking dinner while she nursed the baby. She remembered sitting against her husband on the sofa after eating.

Next thing she knew she was waking up in their bed to the sounds of a crying baby. The bassinet had been pushed up against her side of the bed, Aloy need only sit up to check on the fussy infant.

For something so tiny, she certainly could project. The cries echoed around the bedroom so that, before Aloy could scoop the baby up into her arms, Erend sat bolt upright next to her in the bed.

“Diaper’s dry,” Aloy said, running the palm of her hand over the clothed baby bottom. “She must be hungry.”

Erend sleepily fumbled to help untie the shoulder tie on the sleep shirt she was wearing, allowing Aloy to pull the top down and sidle her breast free from beneath the soft cotton. He even helped her wriggle the crying baby into position.

The infant squirmed and fussed, turning her face here and there, completely ignoring her mother’s waiting nipple, cries piercing the otherwise calm night.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Aloy asked.

“Maybe she needs to be burped,” Erend suggested in a sleepy voice, reaching gently for the tiny wriggling baby.

Aloy lie a rag over his shoulder, as he sat the baby’s round bottom on his forearm, turning her to face his shoulder. Delicately, he ran his hand over the infant’s back, patting here and there. Her crying became uneven, and then after a minute or so she belched surprisingly loudly into her father’s ear.

Erend’s heavily lidded eyes widened, and he seemed to laugh in spite of himself. “That was a big one,” he told her, using the cloth to wipe spittle from the corners of the infant’s mouth before easing her back into her mother’s arms.

This time the baby latched immediately, tiny mouth sucking in Aloy’s nipple and beginning to feed. “There we go, much better.”

Erend mumbled something sleepily, scooting closer to her and allowing his head to sag down onto her shoulder. She let hers fall against the top of his, mohawk tickling her cheek.

He was asleep long before the baby was done nursing.

—————-

The next morning, the little family rose with the sun, not that they’d had much choice in the matter. Once the baby roused them,!Erend set to making breakfast as Aloy carried their daughter into the nursery for a change.

The infant fussed as Aloy rid her of the soiled diaper, tucking it into a laundry bag before cleaning up her daughter’s dirty bottom. Settling only once the soft cloth of a new diaper met her skin, the baby’s cries subsided into happy gurgling.

“Is that better?” Aloy asked, knowing she was smiling impishly as she retrieved a little onesie Teb had stitched from a drawer in the changing table. It was made out of brown cloth similar to the Nora underclothes Aloy used to always wear but the edges were wound with red and blue thread.

Getting it on turned out to be a challenge, especially since the little tyke decided it was a good time to see just how far and wide she could stretch her tiny arms, but over her head it went nonetheless. It was sleeveless, chubby baby arms pulled gently through the arm holes, and then a flap pulled between the baby’s legs to fasten to a button on the front of the onesie.

“If only your uncle Teb was here to see you,” Aloy all but cooed, leaning over and gently lifting the infant into her arms.

Erend was whistling away at the stove, the morning light starting to pour through the windows alongside the sitting room. Aloy carried the baby with her into the kitchen, sinking down into one of the dining chairs. Her husband smiled over his shoulder as he saw this, before resuming his whistling.

The food smelled simply fantastic, Aloy hadn't recognized just how hungry she was until the smell of the sizzling bacon reached her nose. She contented herself with gently rocking the baby, running gentle fingers over the infant’s head, fidgeting with the little onesie.

Aloy found herself humming along with Erend’s whistling, humming the song she only knew because her husband whistled it so often. The little infant seemed to enjoy this, perhaps the vibration in Aloy’s chest was soothing.

“My mother used to sing that song to me as a child,” Erend said, now plating the food. “I wish I remembered the words, but all I know is the tune.”

Erend hardly ever spoke about his parents, Aloy looked up to him surprised. “Is it an Oseram song?” Aloy asked, “Maybe we can find out.”

“Maybe,” Erend said, somewhat sadly as he set down two plates on the dining table. However the moment he turned his eyes to their daughter his face split into a smile.

Aloy relinquished the child to him, sitting back to watch him settle the infant into his arms so that Aloy could eat her breakfast.

—————-

It was afternoon when the knock on the front door came. Aloy was sat up with the baby on the sofa and Erend had to pry himself from her side to answer.

“Hello, hello,” Anehita greeted jovially as she and her fiancé stepped inside. “Well, you two don't look like you're falling over from exhaustion so the first night must not have been too bad.”

Brant’s eyes were wide, he hadn't seen the baby yet, and was staring at where Aloy sat coddling the infant. “Cap, she's so small,” he breathed. “You still worried about breaking her?”

Laughing, Erend closed the door behind the guests. “Not even a little, you were right.”

Anehita had come quickly forward, sitting down next to Aloy and bending low over the baby to make little cooing noises to make the infant look up to her.

“Someone mark the calendar,” Brant said. “Cap said I was right about something.”

Erend gave his fellow Vanguard a friendly punch on the shoulder. “Don’t get used to it.”

Then all attention was on the baby, who was awake and aware, gurgling and staring wide eyed up at all of them. Aloy let Anehita take a turn holding the infant, while Brant needled them about the fact they weren’t going to name their daughter for six months.

“I mean seriously,” he said. “What’re you gonna call her ‘baby girl’ for half a year?”

Aloy rolled her eyes, rising from the sofa. Her hair had dried and was damn near curly, falling around her pale freckles face like a mane. Erend expected her to make a quippy come back but instead she came by and gave her husband a soft kiss on his cheek before excusing herself to the washroom.

“She’s followed so many of my traditions,” Erend said, as the door clicked closed, hoping to settle the matter. “What’s one of hers?”

He merely had to step forward to Anehita where she sat on the couch, and the midwife immediately passed over the baby. Erend settled his daughter into what was quickly becoming a familiar lying position across his broad arm. He turned to face Brant, who was still standing alongside the low sitting room table.

“Until then, she will just be my little Moonblossom.”

Anehita let out a muffled “aw” at this, still watching from her seat.

Brant was looking down at the baby properly now, eyes taking in the fair skinned round cheeks, the sprinkling of ginger hair, her fingers spread wide reaching aimlessly. “I’d say this child is way too cute to be yours,” he quipped, reaching a hand out and meeting a tiny baby finger with one of his own. “But the poor girl has your nose.”

Even Erend had to laugh at this. “Do you want to hold her?”

For a moment, Brant looked unsure. He ran his fingers over his goatee and glanced to his fiancé before nodding. He came forward carefully, Erend could feel him holding his breath as he gently eased the infant into his arms. He was out of uniform, the sleeves on his striped shirt rolled up so that the baby rested on his bare fore arm, turning her little face up to him as her head came to rest in the bend of his elbow.

Brant’s face warmed like a sunrise, his smile growing more and more, eyes as well. He only tore his gaze away to look to Anehita.

Erend suddenly felt like he was intruding upon a private moment between the two of them. He was happy to turn his attention to Aloy, who was padding barefoot back to them across the kitchen, the now too big maternity dress she was wearing flowing around her.

“I want one,” Brant said.

Aloy had reached Erend’s side, nearly managing to muffle her laugh in his shoulder as she hugged him. Anehita was beaming so broadly he was afraid that if he looked directly at her he might go blind.

“Well, you can’t have this one,” Erend joked, to break the silence. “She’s ours.”

Everyone laughed, and Brant turned his attention back to the baby. He bounced her and she made what seemed to be pleased sounds so he did it again. Then he pulled a face.

“Must have jiggled her bladder too much,” he said, now holding her back out to Aloy.

Taking her daughter in her arms, Aloy laughed and joked over her shoulder. “Just part of the full baby experience.” Then she disappeared into the nursery. Erend went to assist her in changing the infant’s diaper.

“Don’t worry, I think I still want one,” Erend heard Brant say as he went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just really hope you guys all signed on for endless baby fluff. I haven’t figured out how long this will end up being. I know how long timeline wise I’m meant to cover (six months) but as I spend entire chapters covering single days I do wonder just how long I might stretch six months. 
> 
> *nervous laugh*
> 
> Oh eff it I’m just gonna run with it k? K. 
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	18. The First Outing

The first day of summer dawned bright and warm. Erend was up before anyone else, including the two week old baby who was snoozing in her bassinet on Aloy’s side of the bed. This meant Erend had to be extra quiet as he dressed and crept from the bedroom.

Today was a big day for Erend and his little family. They'd be taking the baby for her first outing around Meridian. Two weeks they'd been sequestered in their apartment and though Erend had gone out it had only ever been out of need and he returned immediately.

Aloy on the other hand hadn't left the apartment. The closest she'd come was stepping out on the balcony to get herself and the baby some sunshine.

Today that was all about to change. The investigation into the near miss incident during the Celebration had wrapped, guards had finally been dismissed from endlessly watching them, and they were finally ready to bring their daughter out into the world.

His wife was nervous about it, but Erend was ECSTATIC. He couldn't wait to show off his beautiful Moonblossom.

Erend stepped into the nursery, pulling a freshly cleaned onesie out and laying it ready before going to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He was maybe half way through cooking when he heard the baby fussing and crying.

Aloy emerged from their bedroom, firmly carrying the crying infant. She looked tired, and he couldn't even blame her. They'd been awoken twice in the night and, unlike him, his wife had a hard time falling back asleep after late night interruptions.

Thinking of this, Erend moved the skillet off of the stove onto a wooden trivet and made to come help with the baby, but she waved him off. “No no, you cook,” she said wearily, disappearing into the nursery. The door closed behind her, muffling the baby’s cries.

They'd developed a rhythm, every morning he'd cook and she'd do the morning changing and dressing. After breakfast the baby would nurse while Erend did the dishes. Then he'd take over to give his wife a break.

Though she never went far, even when he was the parent on duty. Usually she would lounge next to him while he doted upon the child.

Erend use to try to force naps on his wife during these times, but he realized instead all he had to do was let her relax long enough and she'd fall asleep on her own. As he plated their breakfast he made a mental note to trick her into one of these naps once they returned home later.

He'd have to actually get her out of the house first, though.

Their morning routine went flawlessly, Aloy was tucking herself back into the silk flowing top of the maternity dress as Erend dried the final dish. She was still wearing loose flowing dresses exclusively. Erend had been surprised to discover that a pregnant belly did not simply go away once the baby was born.

In fact, Aloy looked a bit like she was still mildly pregnant, though Erend was not fool enough to say this too her face. Nor point out the fact that he rather liked her with a bit of weight on her.

“Are we ready?” Erend asked, jovially as he shouldered a small leather pack that contained things they might need for the baby, like burping cloths and diapers. Aloy had the baby tucked into the sling across her, she nodded and allowed him to usher her forward out the front door. “Couldn’t have asked for a prettier day.”

Erend had thought he loved walks through Meridian with Aloy when she was pregnant, but it was nothing compared to now with the actual baby. People smiled as they passed, many pointing to the baby. Here and there someone would stop them, bending over to make face or noises at the baby before moving on.

Aloy didn’t seem to keen on this at first, but the more people seemed to lose themselves looking at their daughter, telling the parents how cute or precious the infant was, the more Aloy seemed to relax. In fact by the time they reached the Eastern Gate to check in with some of Erend’s men, his wife seemed to be enjoying it.

“Did you bring the baby?” Gunnar greeted, peering past Erend to Aloy. “Oy, you lot, Cap brought the baby by.”

Aloy looked mildly overwhelmed, as they were closed in by half a dozen Vanguard, men and women in full leather and steel armor, all clambering to see the infant strapped across Aloy’s chest. They were making a rowdy racket too, so much so that Erend wedged himself between them.

“Alright, let's not crowd Aloy,” he said. He turned and his wife looked up at him thankfully. Erend leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead, then slid delicate hands into the stitched leather sling.

The baby let out a gurgling exclamation, squirming slightly as Erend turned to show the infant off. The reaction was immediate: a chorus of delight exploded from the gathered Vanguard. His daughter’s eyes were wide as she gazed up at the faces that hovered above her.

“May I?”

Erend ignored Aloy’s nervous gasp and allowed Ferda, one of only a couple female Vanguard Erend had in the ranks, to gently take the infant from him. What his wife didn't know was that Ferda had children of her own, which was evident in the graceful and well practiced way in which she held the baby with a hand supporting the infant’s neck and head, her forearm sliding beneath the baby’s bottom.

“Cap, my husband is going to kill you,” Ferda said, bouncing the infant. “You're making me want another kid.”

“I take absolutely no responsibility for this,” Erend said with a laugh, sliding an arm around Aloy because she had jumped as Gunnar dropped the head of his war hammer to the ground, leaning it up against the side of the arch way.

Aloy made the smallest twitch forward as Ferda passed the baby to Gunnar. Erend tightened his grip on his wife. This was more people touching their daughter than had ever, so he wasn't surprised she was struggling with it, but Erend trusted his men.

“This child is far too cute to be yours, Cap,” Gunnar joked, then he stuck his tongue out and began making faces at the baby.

“Fortunately she takes after her mother,” Erend retorted, squeezing Aloy against him.

The baby looked tiny in Gunnar’s arms, and Erend was full of pride watching. He let the Vanguard fuss over the infant for a while longer before returning her gently back into her carry sling.

Aloy let out a relieved sigh, fidgeting to get their daughter comfortably in place once more.

“You did great,” Erend whispered, tucking some of Aloy’s hair back behind her ear.

“So did they,” Aloy said, nodding to his Vanguard as they returned to their posts.

—————-

They made two other stops to visit different Vanguard posts in the city before making their way to the Sun-Palace. This was the main reason for the outing today: the King had requested to meet the baby.

So the monarch had invited them to afternoon tea and Erend had spent the better part of two days talking Aloy into taking the baby out of the house.

Aloy wasn't sure why she'd been so nervous about the whole thing. Perhaps she'd just become comfortable living in the safe bubble of their home, sequestered away with their darling daughter, but watching Erend show off their child to his men with such pride had made the venture or worth it already.

As they walked the bridge across from the main mesa, Aloy looked up to take in her husband’s profile as they walked. His hoop earring glinted in the early afternoon sun, a warm smile on his lips framed by his facial hair. He seemed to sense her eyes on him, ducking his mohawked head to look at her when they reached the end of the bridge.

“Everything okay?” he asked, eyes scanning her face.

“Yeah. Just love you, is all,” Aloy said.

The look Erend gave her after she said this filled her with warmth, his smile somehow broadening even further. “I love you, too,” he replied, ushering her with him up the marble stairs.

It wasn't until they stepped into the sitting room door that she remembered that the last time she'd stood on the spot her water had broken.

“Right on time,” Marad greeted, rising from a seat around the tea table. “I'll let the King know you're here.”

“Why don't we get her out of this?” Aloy asked, indicating the sling. “And it off of me.”

Erend chuckled, easing their daughter out of her carrier and into his arms. This allowed Aloy to pull the strap of the device over her head and off of her, setting it down with their bag. Her back ached slightly from wearing it so long. She stretched before sidling between the center table and their usual cushioned bench.

Her husband shuffled in behind her, sinking down to sit at her side, his attention on the baby. He bent down, hunching his shoulders, to kiss the top of the baby’s head before snuggling her against his chest.

Aloy was so absorbed in this that she jumped when a servant deposited the tea tray onto the table with a clang.

“Now isn't this a sight!” Avad had arrived with the usual flurry of guards. “Look at you: the proud father.”

Erend had hopped up, greeting the King and all but presenting the small infant to the monarch.

Aloy had to admit that watching people as their faces spread with joy at the sight of the baby was pretty exhilarating. She already knew her child was beautiful and perfect but seeing other’s discover it was fun.

Avad’s eyes were alight, smiling wide as he extended his arms in a silent request to hold the child. Erend glanced to Aloy, another courtesy check to ensure she was okay letting yet another person hold their daughter, but she nodded.

As Avad moved the infant into his arms, she looked up to him with wide eyes. The crown seemed to confuse her, she waved tiny baby hands, eyes fixed on the almost petal shaped pieces of metal that fanned out around Avad’s face.

“Hello, aren't you simply precious,” the King said, rocking the infant. “THAT is my crown.” The baby had her eyebrows scrunched, staring trying to make sense of what was looking down at her.

“Sir, I think she may be trying to figure out if it is part of you,” Marad said. He had sank down into his usual seat, poured himself some tea, and now seemed content to sit back watching.

Erend was laughing at this idea, but Avad seemed bothered by it. He turned and waved over one of his personal Carja guards to relieve him, temporarily, of the crown.

Aloy had never seen the Sun-King without his headdress and was sure her eyes had gone as wide as her daughter’s when it was lifted away to reveal black wavy hair.

“See, just a thing I wear,” Avad said, a dark curl falling in front of his forehead as he bent down over the baby. The King was very clearly captivated, taking slow steps around the tea table so that he could sit in his usual high backed chair.

Erend had finally rejoined Aloy on the cushioned bench. “Tea?” he asked, as she had been too distracted watching Avad with their daughter to pour herself a cup. She nodded and a minute later he was pressing the warm cup into her hand.

Avad was still poring over the infant. He became maybe the fifth person to point out that the baby had Aloy’s eyes, and Erend’s nose. Erend beamed with pride at this, sipping his own tea, his loose hand finding one of Aloy’s in her lap.

“I know you won't be naming her for a few months,” Avad said. “But have you thought of any names?”

“Not yet,” Erend said. “And it’ll be Aloy’s decision in the end.”

“You mean you didn't want me to name her Moonblossom?” Aloy asking, mirth laced in her voice. Erend laughed, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Seriously, I will hopefully know when it's time.”

She actually thought she might already know, but continued to keep her thoughts to herself.

A warm afternoon breeze blew through the royal sitting room. The baby was starting to fuss. Avad needn't ask as Erend had already come forth.

“It's about that time,” he said, as he ran one of his broad hands over the baby’s bottom he nodded. “Yep, diaper time.” Aloy made to stand but Erend shook his head. “No, you finish your tea, I'll get this.”

Erend shouldered the pack they're brought with them and stepped out of the sitting room.

“You look happy,” Avad said, now finally setting about making himself some tea. “Perhaps a bit tired, but happy.”

“Happy, excited, content, and yes perhaps a little tired,” Aloy said, smiling at him. “Erend’s been great.”

“I'm sure he has been. I've never seen him so joyous,” Avad said, straightening up with his now sweetened tea. “The two of you warm my heart…. Or I guess I should say the THREE of you now.”

Aloy wasn’t sure how to respond to this, hoping her smile before sipping her tea was enough. Fortunately the King’s attendants picked then to come forward and replace his crown atop his head, gently tucking his hair back away before the servants left them again.

“That’s better,” Erend declared, as he returned with the baby. “Marad, would you like to hold her?”

The dark skinned advisor looked up, seemingly surprised by the offer. He leaned forward to set down his tea cup then extended his arms to receive the infant from her father. Erend returned to sit with Aloy and together they watched Marad taking in their daughter.

It wasn’t until his smile faltered a little that Aloy looked down to the baby. Her daughter’s face was scrunched up in a manner that, even after just two weeks, the young mother knew exactly what was about to happen.

There wasn’t time to warn him, before the baby started to squirm, and with a wet cough she spit up on Marad’s chest. It met with his dark burgundy over cowl and dripped onto the light woven tunic beneath. His face was priceless, lips falling apart in surprise.

The King covered his mouth to keep from laughing, but Erend was chuckling openly. Aloy bit back her mirth until Marad spoke and she couldn’t hold it in any longer, dissolving into giggles herself.

“First your mother, now you,” he said, giving the infant a scandalized look.

Erend had risen to retrieve the baby, shooting Aloy a confused look as she cackled. Then he reached for their daughter, easing her back into his arms, a burp rag already in hand to wipe her mouth clean.

A servant came forward, taking Marad’s top layer as he doffed it, and bringing him a damp rag to clean his front. “You’re wife’s water broke on my feet at the Celebration,” he said, scrubbing along the winding folds of his undertunic with the rag, attempting to get all of the vomit off. “Promise me you won’t urinate on me to round out the month.”

—————-

Later, as they were coming in the door of the apartment, in a mild hurry as the baby had begun to cry around the last block, Erend lamented how it could have been worse.

“She could have puked on the King, is all I’m saying,” Erend joked, closing the door behind them.

Aloy let out a tired sounding laugh, turning so he could gently wrestle the fussing infant out of the carry sling. Her round face was red, screwed up as she wailed in Erend’s face. His wife was quick to strip herself of the sling.

“I know, momma is late with dinner,” she said fondly, sinking down onto the couch while simultaneously wrestling the strap of her silk dress down off of her shoulder. Once she was extricated she reached her arms up and out for their screaming daughter.

The moment the baby was settled in her mother’s arms the crying subsided, mouth far too busy suckling.

Erend let out a sigh of relief, bowing over to kiss Aloy on her forehead. “I’ll just go unpack this,” he said, indicating the bag they’d taken out with them.

Even though Aloy seemed not to mind his presence, Erend often tried to give her privacy while she was nursing. It seemed such an intimate thing to watch between the mother and child. He took his time unpacking the unused diapers and cloths from the bag. Put away the spare onesie they’d brought just in case. He looked over his shoulder to the crib.

For two weeks the baby had been sleeping with them in their bedroom, in a bassinet adjacent to the bed. Soon she’d be sleeping in here, and Erend almost felt bad for looking forward to it.

Aloy was still nursing when Erend returned. “Must have worked up a hunger,” she joked.

“Little Moonblossom had a big day,” he said.

Once the infant had finally had her fill, they settled her into the bassinet and Aloy hung off the end of the sofa fussing with the blankets, her ginger hair falling around her face like a shining waterfall.

Erend sank deeper in the silk cushions, stretching an arm along the back of the couch, watching his wife with his heart simply swelling to burst in his chest.

“And now she’s asleep,” Aloy said, turning to see that he was watching her with what he imagined was a goofy smile on his face.

It must have been contagious though because soon she was smiling and scooting up against him, her head sinking down onto his shoulder. One of her arms snaked across his middle, fingers sliding over the fabric of his yellow striped shirt.

“I love you,” she said into his chest.

Erend dropped his chin gently onto the top of her head, letting his arm fall around her back. “I love you, too.”

He knew if he only let her sit still long enough he could likely slide out and leave her to nap, but as she snuggled against him, warm and soft in his arms, he thought it couldn’t hurt to close his eyes also.

This would be the first time they napped as a family, but it was sure not to be the last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love this baby so damn much. I’ve got like this list of baby scenes that I’m just slowly organizing into a cohesive timeline. 
> 
> Always feel like a sap after I finish a chapter it’s such sugary fluff but I love writing it so much. Thanks for reading.


	19. The Tummy Time Experiment

“I’m just saying, you may want to take a day before I go back on duty,” Erend said, nose crinkling as his wife passed him a dirty diaper.

They were at the wooden changing table in the nursery, their month old daughter was squirming and kicking, giving her mother a moving target while attempting to cleanse the infant’s bottom.

“Are you sure you can do a whole day just you and her?” Aloy asked, gently wrapping a hand around one of the baby’s chubby legs to lift her butt up in order to wipe better.

Erend tried not to bristle at the notion he couldn't handle their child alone. He knew that wasn't what she actually meant, his wife was just making an excuse because she wasn't sure if _she_ could handle a whole day away from the baby.

“Of course,” he said, hoping he sounded breezy about the whole thing. “Besides you'll be spending a lot of days without back up while I'm working.”

Aloy was frowning, frowning and tying on a fresh diaper. “I guess you have a point,” she said, now buttoning the flap back on the onesie before picking up the now much less fussy child.

“Believe me when I say I understand not wanting to be away from this little Moonblossom,” Erend said, stepping forward and hitching a hand up onto the top of Aloy’s skirt.

His wife was not back to her usual size, but she had shrunk back enough to cease wearing maternity dresses around the house. However she didn't have much clothing for the in between size that she was. Instead she’d been piecing together clothing that fit her still into strange outfits. Today, for example, she had on an uneven flapped Nora skirt and one of Erend’s old Vanguard shirts. She had to tie it at the waist and roll up the striped sleeves to even wear it.

Aloy was looking at him with sympathetic eyes allowing him to draw her closer, the baby held between them.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “Here I am moaning about leaving her for a day out and you'll be out most days soon.”

“And wishing I could be here with my two favorite ladies,” Erend said, looking down to the baby. She could smile now, and was doing so as he bent to kiss her head. The ginger hair here had gotten thicker, spreading across the pale skin of the infant’s head. It was silky soft to the touch.

“So I should take a day, huh?” Aloy asked, smiling as their daughter attempted to reach for Erend’s facial hair. This was a new game she liked to play, and though she’d yet to manage a full grasp on the hair, it hadn't stopped her from trying.

“Yeah, maybe go out with Annie,” he suggested. “You could go shopping, maybe for some new clothes?”

Aloy let out a huff if a laugh, looking down at her top. “I guess I _have_ been stealing a lot of your shirts here lately,” she said.

Erend was still holding her against him, his arms around both her and the baby all at once. “And I don't mind, wear them as often as you want,” he said. “I just thought you might need some outfits that match.”

“Let’s say I agree to take this day,” Aloy said, her hazel eyes rising up from the baby to his eyes. Erend knew in an instant she was about to poke a giant hole in his plan. “How, exactly, did you plan on feeding her without me?”

Aloy smiled at him mischievously, adjusting the baby against her before slipping from within Erend’s arms to leave the nursery. He followed in her wake, scrubbing a hand down his mohawk and thinking hard.

“I… clearly didn't think this all the way through,” he said, having followed Aloy to the bassinet in their living room. “I don't suppose you could leave your breasts behind…?”

His wife straightened up from depositing their daughter in the bassinet. “Doesn't work like that,” she said with a laugh, tossing her ginger hair over her shoulder.

“But could you imagine if it did?” Erend asked. He was tugging on the loose sides of his shirt that she was wearing, pulling her to him.

“You would probably never leave the house,” she joked.

Successfully pulling Aloy against him, Erend shook his head. “I prefer the whole package, thanks,” he murmured, sliding gentle fingers along the curve of her neck, guiding her face up to his. His mouth found hers and was met with enthusiasm as she wound arms around his shoulders to kiss him back.

He held her there for a long while, their lips moving as one against one another. Erend slid his fingers deep into her barely tamed waves of ginger hair, enjoying the feel of her, warm and soft, in his arms.

Aloy hummed against his mouth as they pulled apart, eyes still closed, a content smile playing at her lips. “Well,” she said after a while. “I can't leave you to have the _whole_ day, but she’s settled into a pretty regular nursing schedule. I could come by at mid-day to feed her and then be home in time for the one before dinner.”

As she spoke she played with the buttons at the top of Erend’s shirt, still allowing him to hold her against him with arms around her waist. “As usual you are a much more thorough planner than I am,” he said. “Thank you.”

Erend had to set about making dinner after that, leaving his wife to settle in on the sofa to keep a watchful eye on their infant daughter in her bassinet.

One week until Erend would be returning to his Vanguard duty and he wasn't even slightly ready. He’d never expected to find himself preferring to stay home. There had been periods in his life where he _hated_ to be home. He used to work endlessly and when he wasn't working he'd stay out at pubs with Ersa, Olin, or Elof.

Before Aloy home was just a place to crash and sober up between duty shifts.

Now when Erend left the apartment they had picked out together, he counted the minutes until he could return home to his daughter and wife. As he began cooking, he wondered if this was what growing up actually was. Not just having to put family first, but _wanting_ to.

The baby had started to fuss, Erend glanced over his shoulder to see Aloy wiggling herself free of his shirt. It was supper time for their daughter. Turning back, he continued to slice turkey meat for a stir fry.

The pan was sizzling as the infant’s cries subsided. Erend couldn't hear the adorable suckling noises she made when she nursed, but he _could_ hear Aloy’s soft humming. He couldn't help but smile at this, he hadn't even started whistling just yet.

Erend purses his lips, adding his well practiced whistle to her humming. At least he’d still have dinner time, even after he went back on duty, and he would still have days off. Erend would see them both plenty, he told himself as he slid the sliced turkey into the pan.

Still, he’d had a nice couple months at home, and though he dreaded seeing them less, he knew the King and the rest of the Vanguard would be thrilled to have him back.

Somehow this made it just a bit easier.

—————-

The days left until Erend went back to work seemed to rush by so that the morning of Aloy’s day out snuck right up on her. Not as if she could forget it, Anehita had been overjoyed at the idea of spending a day with the new mother.

Aloy wanted to be excited for it. She’d expected to look forward to getting out of the house for a while, never previously been one to enjoy being trapped in one place for too long. There had been times before the birth that she’d worried that she would feel like the apartment was caging her in.

Instead her daughter had been born and Aloy would probably voluntarily chain herself to the baby’s crib if it meant not leaving her infant behind for even a minute.

She may have stated this the evening before when they'd been putting the baby down for the night, and Erend may have given her a look as if he was concerned she had gone crazy. “This,” he’d said, “is exactly why you need to go out tomorrow.”

Her husband had therefore pushed with a fair amount of gusto that morning to get Aloy ready to go out. He'd laid out clothes for her, one of her earlier maternity dresses that she hoped would be seeing its last wear, and he'd already cleaned and changed the baby, moving her into the bassinet in the living room.

“Ah, there she is,” Erend said over his shoulder. He was at the stove cooking breakfast. Anehita, who was at least an hour early, sat drinking tea at the dining table.

Aloy couldn’t resist the urge to check on the baby before coming to join her friend at the table. “Good morning,” she said, as she slid into the seat.

Anehita was cheery and chatty. She talked all the way through tea and breakfast, throwing ideas around of where they might go shopping. Aloy ate in silence trying to get in the proper mood for such an endeavor.

“You okay? You’re awfully quiet,” Annie said, as Aloy cleared the empty plates from the table.

Erend wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin, looking not at all surprised at the situation. “Aloy is having a hard time leaving the baby,” he said.

“Ohhhh,” Anehita replied. “Of course, the first time is always the hardest.”

Aloy let out her breath with a huff, dropping the dishes into the wash basin haphazardly. The baby was crying now, time for the morning nursing before Aloy left. Erend was suddenly there at his wife’s side, a hand coming up to her back.

“Hey, let me deal with the dishes,” he said. “Go feed our perfect little Moonblossom.”

Anehita came and sat with Aloy as she nursed. The morning sun shone in through the sitting room windows, warming the room. Suckling away, the baby’s tiny fist rested upon the top curve of Aloy’s freckled breast. The mother was captivated, memorizing every curve of her chubby infant’s body as if she might never hold her again.

She knew she was being dramatic, knew that Erend was perfectly capable of caring for their child. She also knew she couldn’t be present for _every_ moment of their daughter’s life and the sooner she accepted that the better.

So once the baby finished nursing, she let Erend take her. He sat her up on his thick arm, leaned against his shoulder, and bounced her gently eliciting an adorable gurgling sound from her.

“See, we’ll be fine,” Erend said.

Aloy was fixing the top of her dress. “I know you will be,” Aloy said. “I’ll just miss her is all.”

With that, she kissed her husband and her daughter before allowing Anehita to pull her almost physically from the apartment and out into Meridian.

—————-

Erend spent the first part of his day alone with the baby just walking about the apartment holding, bouncing, and cuddling her. He completely understood his wife’s struggle leaving, because he was dreading doing the same the next day for his first day back on Vanguard duty.

Which was why he was going to spend every moment that day soaking up time with his daughter.

He took her out on the balcony, letting the sunlight warm them both. He tried to show the baby the view of the valley and the Spire on the other side, but her hazel eyes were always turned up to her father’s face.

Erend puffed out his cheeks, and gently blowing air out at her. She attempted to imitate this, scrunching her tiny lips as best as she could, and pushing out her already very round cheeks.

This was a game they had developed quite recently, after he’d realized she was mirroring the expressions that he and his wife made at her, including smiles and kissy faces. It was never entirely coordinated, but was always adorable to the point Erend’s chest was full of pride and love when they played it.

The morning seemed to breeze right by, at least for Erend. Aloy on the other hand acted as if she'd been gone for _days_ when she returned for the midday nursing.

Erend and Anehita left her to herself as she sank into the rocking chair with the baby.  
“Annie, would you like a sandwich?” Erend asked, as he closed the nursery door.

“I would love one,” she said, following him into the kitchen. “So… are you ready to go back to work?”

Erend let out a non-committal groan as he unwrapped a loaf of bread the girls had just returned from the market with. Anehita shot him a sympathetic look from her seat at the dining table.

Not wanting to discuss it, Erend decided to change the topic to the one thing he knew Anehita would not be able to resist. “How goes the wedding plans?”

Annie lit up like a lantern. “Oh! Good!” she squealed. “We are looking at doing it in four months, not long before the naming, which by the way we would _love_ to attend if that's a possibility.”

“You do realized that the naming requires going all the way back to the Motherland, right?” Erend was done assembling the first sandwich setting the plate before her on the table.

“I know, and we’d have to see if the King would allow Gunnar to stand in so that both you and Brant could go,” Anehita said. “But we would like to.”

“To be honest I would be grateful for the company on the trip,” Erend said.

Anehita gave him a knowing look, like she saw right through him to the mild anxiety he felt at the idea of traveling that far with his baby daughter in tow. He turned his back to her to finish preparing sandwiches for himself and his wife.

Aloy joined them a few minutes later, depositing the baby in her bassinet on the way to the kitchen.

“Who’s ready to go buy some new clothes?” Anehita asked cheerfully.

Aloy rolled her eyes, complete with her trademark head tilt. “You’re lucky I hate everything I own I can fit into right now,” she said, before tearing into her sandwich.

Erend chuckled, and slid his now empty plate away from himself. “You look cute in anything,” he said. “You literally can’t go wrong with whatever you get.”

There it was, the small little grin that she let spread across her lips when he’s gotten to her. She seemed to take a tick longer than normal to chew and swallow the mouthful of sandwich before replying. “I’m glad you said that, where do you get your shirts?”

Laughter rang around the kitchen at this, even Aloy was giggling. It was just dissolving when the baby started to cry. Aloy made to rise, but Erend stood and placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

“I got her,” he said.

It was a dirty diaper. How she could already have processed enough of her lunch to accomplish this Erend had no idea, but he made quick work of changing her. Diapers weren’t fun themselves, but he had come to love watching his daughter’s face as it changed from discomfort. By the time he was done she was cheerful again, popping her lips open and reaching for the hair on his jaw as he lifted her back into his arms, her fingers just missing their target.

So engrossed in this, Erend hadn’t noticed Aloy had come to stand in the nursery door. Her arms were crossed over the silk front of the oversized maternity dress, a smile much broader than the one he’d coaxed from her in the kitchen gracing her face.

“I think she loves your facial hair as much as I do,” she said.

Erend knew his smile must match hers now, as he paused in the doorway to kiss her, tiny baby hands reaching up for them both. He walked her and Anehita to the door, still bouncing the infant in his arms.

“Don’t forget to get in some tummy time,” Aloy said. “Lay with her if you have to. And don’t let her nap too long or she’ll keep us up and you’ll be tired on your first day back at work. And-.”

“Moonflower,” Erend interrupted, reminding himself that she did actually have faith in his capabilities to take care of their daughter. “I got this. Go. I love you.”

“Of course you do, I’m sorry,” she said, coming back from the door to kiss him on the cheek. “I love you too. Both of you.” Then she kissed the top of the baby’s head, enveloping them both in shining ginger hair before allowing Anehita to tug her out the front door.

Turning his eyes from the door, Erend looked down into wide blinking hazel eyes. “What do you say, Moonblossom?” he asked. “How about some tummy time with your father?”

Tummy time was something Anehita had introduced into their daily routine with baby. The activity was meant to encourage her to use different muscles than she used on her back or being held. Aloy would spread one of her Nora firs on the floor and cover it in a blanket. Then she’d place their daughter in the center on her tummy and lie next to her. She’d scurry her hand across the blanket in front of the baby like a small animal, and watch as the infant reacted to it.

Erend had a different idea in mind though.

Baby tucked in one arm he set to rearranging the silk pillows on the sofa. Then he lied down on his back, gently positioning his daughter on her tummy on top of him. She looked surprised, her tiny mouth falling open, her chubby arms on either side of her pushing down against his chest.

She wasn’t to the point she could actually push herself up far, but she did turn her face up, chin resting on his shirt, eyes looking up towards his head. Erend scooted her just a little bit further up and was rewarded by her finally getting the first feel of his facial hair.

The squeal of delight that left her at this success warmed Erend’s heart. She felt the hair moving to feel the bare skin of his chin before letting her hand drop back to his chest. She kicked her legs a bit, and he knew this wouldn’t be the last time they did his version of tummy time.

—————-

“Slow down, will ya?” Anehita breathed, as they turned the last block towards home.

Aloy ignored her, taking the steps two at a time and pushing open the front door to her apartment before her friend had even reached the bottom of the stairs.

She froze though, framed in the doorway, as the soft sounds of her husband’s snoring had met her ears.

Erend was sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep, one arm draped behind his head, the other wrapped around the bottom of their daughter. She was just as asleep as he was, one arm tucked under his chin, tiny fingers dug slightly into the dark hair that grew along Erend’s jaw.

Warm butterflies seemed to have filled Aloy’s stomach, watching as the infant rose and fell softly with each of her husband’s breaths.

A soft “aw” behind her brought Aloy back to herself, she stepped back out the door, pulling Anehita with her, and closing it back as quietly as she could.

Anehita was holding out the couple of bags she’d been carrying. “I’ll say goodbye here so as not to disturb them,” she said.

Aloy took them, looked over her shoulder to the closed door. “I know I said she shouldn’t nap too long, but I can’t bear to ruin that,” she said, knowing that she had to look as flustered as she felt. “Hey, can I ask you something... you know personal but also as a midwife?”

“Of course.”

“How long after giving birth is it safe to,” Aloy said, her mouth going suddenly very dry, sure that a blush was warming her cheeks. “I mean when can Erend and I...”

Anehita let out a tinkling laugh, stepping forward, the wooden porch creaking slightly. “I usually say two months to be safe,” she answered, placing a friendly hand on Aloy’s shoulder. “Some say a month and a half, but you would know how healed you are better than anyone.”

Aloy let out a long sigh, it had only been five weeks. Anehita offered to do a check up for her and the idea of being prodded and poked in her hospital office was enough to cool Aloy right off.

Still, as she slid quietly in the door, pausing once more to take in the view of her husband sleeping so soundly cuddled on the couch with their daughter, she knew the time would fly by.

And she knew he was worth the wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this ended up longer than I expected. 
> 
> I have such a clear mental image of Erend asleep on the couch with the baby on his chest. The afternoon light shining in through those southern facing windows. 
> 
> Aloy is a lucky woman. XD
> 
> Thank you for continuing to read this blubbery fluffy mess of words.


	20. Some Advice Required

The lantern light flickered in the breeze blowing through the cracked bedroom window. It was cool on Aloy’s bare skin, sending a mild shiver across her frame.

She was perched on the edge of the bed, folded in on herself, knees pulled up to her to her torso. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes closed, letting her chin fall, hair surrounding her face. She couldn’t even look at him.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Erend said. He was lying on his back behind her, the blankets pulled over his legs up to his hips, the only thing covering his naked body.

Except it wasn’t okay. They were inches from one another and he wasn’t touching her anymore, she couldn’t bring herself to unfold, to turn, to look and see the disappointment and confusion in his eyes. The silence stretched endlessly, she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

“I...” he broke the silence tentatively, she could hear him shifting behind her. “I didn’t _hurt_ you did I?” His hand slid onto her shoulder, body sliding up behind her.

“It’s fine,” Aloy lied, mildly recoiling at his touch and hating herself for it. “I’m fine.”

The sound of cries filtered to them through the bedroom wall, and Aloy had never been more happy for a nighttime interruption from their daughter. Erend let out a huff of frustrated breath, probably because he knew what she would do.

Aloy rose from the bed, snatching up a robe from its peg on the wall to wrap around her bare body. She looked to him only once, eyes meeting over the distance between the doorway and the bed. His arm was still extended from where he’d been reaching for her, he let it fall to the bed as she ducked out the door.

Aloy let the bedroom door close behind her as she went, seeking refuge in the nursery where her daughter’s cry echoed around the space.

“It’s okay, Mama is here,” she said, leaning over the rail of the crib to retrieve the fussing two month old infant. She squirmed against her mother, face red, cheeks puffed out.

Aloy didn’t mind in the least, the sound was enough to to drown out a bit of her own treacherous thoughts at the moment. Instead of thinking about what had just happened between her and her husband she could think about what the baby needed. Which didn’t appear to be a change, as her diaper was dry.

Instead, she was hungry, which was evident by how fast she latched when Aloy tugged open the top of the silk robe to expose her swollen breast. Usually Aloy would sit in the rocking chair for a night time feeding, but she was restless and couldn’t imagine sitting now.

Her mind raced going over the failed romantic evening with her husband. The worst part was that Aloy had initiated it. Aloy had made all the moves to pull Erend in, to turn him on, and then it had gone horribly awry.

Aloy paced, bouncing the suckling baby gently, trying to push from her mind the strange discomfort she’d felt instead of pleasure. Or the look of confusion on Erend’s face as she’d pushed him away midway through. She’d so been looking forward to the time they could be together with each other intimately, and now she felt profoundly disappointed.

The nursery door creaked open behind her, Aloy let out a sigh, and without turning to look spoke. “You should just crash, you have work in the morning. I got this,” she said, as if she really believed the fussing child was the reason he’d followed her into the nursery.

Erend didn’t speak, instead suddenly he was there behind her, one of his broad hands sliding along her waist, hugging her to his chest from behind. “Don’t you think we should talk about this?” he asked, letting his head fall down to her shoulder and successfully stopping her pacing.

Aloy exhaled, a long sigh, eyes still upon the nursing child in her arms. What was there to even say? She’d worried months earlier about childbirth changing sex for the couple and now here she was face to face with the reality of it. What if she never enjoyed it again?

Her stomach twisted, glad he couldn’t see what she was sure was tears stinging the corner of her eyes. “It’s fine, we’ll...” Aloy began, desperately trying to find words. “Figure it out?”

Erend’s arms tightened around her. “Maybe it was too soon,” he said. “We’ll give it more time.”

Aloy didn’t tell him that at 9 weeks they’d waited LONGER than had been recommended. That she’d been waiting three weeks to be with him. Instead she nodded, keeping her eyes down on their daughter as she suckled upon her mother’s freckled breast in the moonlight.

He didn't leave her, instead he stayed, arms wrapped around her from behind, face nuzzled into her hair until the baby had her fill of breast milk. He hardy loosened his grip on her, as if afraid she would run away, going with her to the crib to lower the baby into it.

Aloy almost hoped she wouldn't settle, but the baby seemed satiated, falling quiet as her mother tucked the baby blankets around her. Erend was already gently pulling his wife away from the crib rail.

“Will you please, just look at me,” he pleaded, turning her in his arms.

It took a lot to drag her eyes up to meet his, and she'd expected to still see disappointment there. Instead he was eying her more with concern than anything else, both of his work worn hands coming up to cup the sides of her face. “I'm sorry,” she murmured again.

“Stop apologizing,” Erend said sternly. “There's nothing to apologize for, you understand? I don't want to make love to you if it isn't enjoyable for _both_ of us.”

Aloy stared into his eyes, and knew from the look he returned that he was being sincere and earnest. She could feel some of the anxious tension leave her. A small whimper left her lips, as she all but collapsed against him, allowing him to envelope her fully in his arms.

She wanted to tell him she was scared that it would never be the same, scared they would never enjoy each other the way they once had, but words failed to come. Instead she let her husband lead her out of the nursery and back into their bedroom. She kept quiet as he slid into the bed beside her, pulling her against him.

“I love you,” he whispered, pressing a kiss into her neck, spooning her from behind.

“I love you, too.”

/—————-

Breakfast the following morning was a quiet affair. Erend couldn't decide if he was relieved or not that his wife hadn't brought up the previous night’s failure to regain the couple's intimacy. Aloy was picking at her food, which was all the confirmation he needed to know that the situation was still on her mind as much as it was his.

He left her to finish eating while he returned to the bedroom to put on his armor. About half way thru he heard the baby starting to cry, and by the time he was dressed Aloy was already settled on the sofa, their daughter nursing away.

“Got any special requests for dinner tonight?” Erend asked, leaning over to kiss his wife on the forehead.

Aloy shook her head, red hair flowing around her as she looked up to him. “But I wouldn't say no to some of that smelly cheese you love,” she said. “And we are running low on tea.”

“Not a problem, I can take care of both,” he said. Anything to make her feel better, make her have a better day than the day before. “Love you.”

“Love you too, sweetie,” she said, allowing him to give their child a whiskery kiss despite still being latched to her pale breast. “Have a good day at work.”

Erend had been back in his role as Captain of the Vanguard for nearly a month. Long enough that leaving every morning felt less like a challenge than it had at first. Today perhaps even easier than normal as he felt like they both needed some space.

The weather seemed to mirror his mood. Grey clouds hung over the city spitting down a warm drizzle over the early morning foot traffic on the streets. He returned a grunt when Brant greeted him, the pair of Vanguard falling into step together in their way to morning briefing.

His mind was miles away for most of it, wondering what he could have done differently the night before. Erend had to admit to himself he'd gotten in a hurry, carried away wanting to be fully with his wife for the first time in months. Perhaps if he'd taken more time, warmed up to it more.

Brant seemed to attribute Erend’s silence to the usual new baby tiredness. It wasn't until early afternoon, as the pair traversed the southern overlook, that his fellow Oseram started to realize something more was amiss.

“There’s your girls,” Brant said, nudging Erend and pointing up.

There, on the balcony that extended off of their apartment, was Aloy with the baby tucked under one arm. This had become a bit of a daily ritual for the family. His wife waved down to him, smile not quite as wide as it usually was, and Erend waved back.

Usually this was when the Captain would attempt to get out of rounds. He'd try to slip away from his second on command to go home.

Today however he let out a slightly haggard sigh and pressed on. He was nearly to the elevators before Brant caught up.

“What’s up?” he asked, fixing the Captain with a look that said he now knew something more than sleep deprivation was weighing upon his friend.

“Nothing,” Erend returned sharply. The dual layer golden gates folded away before them, allowing a handful of people to step off the elevator top side. When Brant continued to give him a look Erend added: “It’s… private.”

The two Vanguard clambered onto the elevator and Brant had the decency to wait until the switch was thrown, doors to the car closing with just them inside, downward motion initiating with a jerk. .

“Cap, I've seen your wife naked now,” Brant joked. “I think you can tell me.”

Erend hadn't been facing his fellow Oseram, but he spun on the spot at this “ _YOU SAID YOU DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING!_ ” he sputtered over the clanging of the descending elevator.

“Well, it was impossible to not see anything _at all_ ,” Brant said, not hiding his amusement, his hands clasped behind his back as he rocked from his heels to the balls of his feet and back. “Probably not the only one to see some things after you banged down the door.”

“You _said_ you didn't see anything,” Erend repeated, stopping two paces short of shaking his friend.

Brant did not seem concerned, sidestepping around Erend and out of the elevator door which has just opened behind Erend. It took the Captain a moment to unstick himself, mouth hung open, trying not to think too hard on exactly WHAT someone looking through the door at the hospital might have seen.

“I'm just saying, you and I are close. Aloy and Annie are close,” Brant said, as Erend caught back up to him on his way to the Western gates out of the village. “You guys are practically extended family to us, so if you wanted to talk about whatever it is: I’m here.”

Erend considered this, as they checked in with the gate guards, and stopped at the charcuterie in town for him to pick up a small wheel of the cheese Aloy had requested before they proceeded East into the Maizelands.

Brant let out a startled cry as Erend decided finally, spontaneously grabbing Brant’s elbow and hauling him off the path and into one of the plots of corn stalks.

“We _tried_ last night for the first time since the baby was born,” Erend said. “And… it didn't go well.”

“Oh…” Brant stared back at him wide eyed, brushing a corn stalk from between then. “How bad are we talking?”

Erend let his eyes close, pinching the bridge of his nose between gloved finger and bare thumb. “Bad enough we didn't finish,” he said. “Bad enough she could hardly look at me after.”

“Before though, she was receptive?” Brant asked. “You didn't, like, have to coerce her into it?”

“What- _NO!_ ” Erend’s eyes snapped back open. “She came onto me, actually, I swear! But then once we were actually… you know it clearly wasn't enjoyable for her.”

He was trying very hard not to think about the look on her face when she realized, or how long she’d tried to continue before finally pulling the plug on the endeavor. Aloy must love him because she’d tried to go through with it even after it was clear to her she wouldn't enjoy it. Fortunately she had stopped it.

Erend would have felt sick with guilt once he’s realized if she hadn't.

Come to think of it, he still did, even with it being truncated before going too far.

“Have you thought about talking to Gierbrand about this?” Brant asked. “His wife pushed out twins that _HAD_ to have had repercussions for their sex lives.”

“That's an idea,” Erend said, blinking and nodding to indicate they should step from within the corn stalks to continue rounds.

“It's either that or you could talk to Annie,” Brant suggested, holding back stiff corn stalks for them to er back onto the main path. A merchant passing with a small wagon of merchandise jumped in surprise as they emerged.

Erend ignored this, turning his friend one final time before letting the topic drop. “To stack onto your ‘we’re an extended family idea’,” he said. “That would be like me asking a little sister…”

Brant simply laughed, clapping Erend on the shoulder and leading their way onward.

—————-

Geirbrand was actually off duty the day Erend finally got up the nerve to come around to talk to him. He lived in the ground floor of a building on the West side of Meridian proper. The small front stoop housed a few potted plants that were mildly unkempt, growing over the edges of their pots.

Erend knocked, and through the door heard a chorus of voices.

“DAAAAAAAD DOOR!”

“DOOR DOOR DOOR DOOR!”

“I HEARD IT, I HEARD IT!”

The door swung open revealing Geirbrand. The Vanguard was out of uniform, a towel tossed over his shoulder, and what appeared to be flour clinging to his long braided goatee.

“Captain, this is a surprise,” he greeted. “Come in.”

“YEAH COME IN!”

“COME IN! COME IN!!”

If Erend was recalling properly the two rambunctious girls were four years old. They were running around in circles chasing one another, dodging around furniture and the two men.

“Girls, girls,” Geirbrand said in a pleasing voice as he closed the front door. “Come meet your Dad’s boss.”

They did one final lap around the front room before skidding to a halt side by side next to their father. They wore matching style dresses in yellow and red. Their brunette hair was braided into pigtails.

“Cap, this is Gianna and Gabriela,” Geirbrand said, pointing to them in turn. “What do we say girls?”

“It's nice to meet you,” they said together in unison.

Erend smiled, trying not to imagine what his daughter might look like at that age. “It’s nice to meet you both,” he said.

“Alright, why don't you two go play in your room for a little while.”

They didn't need to be told twice, taking off at top speed down an adjacent hallway, their small feet hammering the floor as they went. “Where’s the missus?” Erend asked, as he was ushered to a kitchen table to sit.

“I like to give her a break when I'm off duty. She's out with her sister somewhere,” Geirbrand said, tossing the towel off of his shoulder onto the edge of the kitchen wash basin. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, thank you,” Erend said. “I'm sorry to come surprise you at home for a personal matter.”

“Oh so it _is_ a personal matter?” Geirbrand sank down in a chair across the table from Erend. “You're not here to drag me in to work then? Damn.”

Erend laughed. “Not today,” he said. “Actually I'm here for your… advice I guess. About… well, you see it's…” He fumbled his words, trying to figure out how to verbalize the situation properly. “You see, I don't know many people who've had children to ask.”

“Oh! Ask away, ask away,” Geirbrand said. “How _are_ things going with the baby?”

“That part is fine. I mean I haven't slept a full night in two months, but she’s worth it,” Erend said. “This is about things with my wife. See, a few days ago we… well we tried to… I mean for the first time since… and well, it didn't go-.”

“Let me guess,” Geirbrand said, cutting off Erend’s rambling inquiry. “Your first attempt at sex wasn't enjoyable for _her_?” He gave the Captain a sympathetic look over the table.

Face flushing red, all Erend could do was nod.

“Frieda and I had the same problem, and let me first ease your heart a little by telling you that it DOES get back to normal over time,” Geirbrand said. “Once she’s no longer breast feeding.”

“It does? Thank the moon.” Erend let his face fall into his hands. “We’ve never had a problem in this department and it's-“

“Believe me, I know,” Geirbrand said. “Here, hang on, I have something that will help.”

He left Erend sitting in his kitchen for a couple minutes, the giggling of the twin girls filtering through the walls. When the vanguard returned he had apparently noticed and wiped the flour from his face, in his hand was a small purple glass vial with a cork in it.

“This is a special oil, got it from a shop down in the seedy bits of town,” Geirbrand said, setting it down on the table before sidling back into his chair. “Her body is doing all kinds of things it never had to do before, this helps get things moving. If you catch my drift.”

Erend cleared his throat, very much not needing elaboration. “I got it, yeah,” he murmured, gently picking up the glass bottle. “Thanks, Gier.” He stood up from the table, not wanting to impose longer.

“Happy to help, as you said not many of us in the ranks with kids just yet.” Geirbrand rose also, walking the Captain to the door. “In fact, you and your wife should come over for dinner some time, bring the baby, I promise to control the girls.”

Chuckling, Erend felt a little of the embarrassment at the very personal conversation ebb away. “That’s an excellent idea,” he said. “We’ll set it up.”

 

—————-

Aloy splashed some water from the basin onto her face, examining herself in the reflection of the small mirror Erend used to shave. There were bags under her eyes, the byproduct of a highly broken sleep schedule that revolved around her infant daughter.

Her hair was a mess of unbraided ginger waves, as she hadn’t had time to rebraid it after her last wash. She was coming to find she didn’t mind it so much, sometimes tamping it back with a thin band of silk that matched the long silk tunic she wore.

Her clothing was now distinctly Carja, wearing a layered silk skirt that came to her knees to match the tunic. It was comfortable, which was more important to her now than once was.

Early afternoon light was streaming into the apartment when she left the wash room. Her eyes drifted to the vase of flowers sitting in the middle of the dining table.  
Erend had brought home a different thing every day for her of a sweet or romantic nature, including the beautiful bouquet. She knew why he’d been doing it, the situation never quite leaving the back of her mind even days later. He clearly meant well, but the gifts only served to remind her that it was on his mind too.

How could it not be, she supposed. Surely Erend was aching to try again, just as she was, but was he as nervous about it? Impossible. As much as she wanted to, it also triggered a knot in the bottom of her stomach at the thought of it going wrong again. Her mind liked to paint drastic scenarios where Aloy never managed to get up the nerve to try, or every time is not enjoyable.

Could their relationship survive that? Would they just become one of those couples who love each other in all ways other than physical?

If Aloy was sure of anything it was that she didn’t want that.

The baby cried, one of the soft waking up cries that Aloy had become used to, cutting across the mother’s thoughts.

Aloy went to the little bassinet tucked up next to the sofa, and bent low over the fussing child. “There you are, if you napped much longer we would have missed it,” Aloy said, then she gently scooped her daughter into her arms.

She could support her own head a bit now, allowing new ways of being held. Aloy propped her up under one arm upright, bouncing the infant to settle her as she went to open the balcony doors one handed.

The warm sunlight felt amazing as the pair stepped out onto the balcony. A tiny hand was braced in the bottom of Aloy’s chin, her daughter’s face turned out to the world, a gurgling exclamation leaving her.

Aloy was already looking down to the path below. They only had to wait a couple minutes before Brant and Erend walked into view from the East. Her husband’s eyes drifted up to her long before his man nudged his shoulder. He raised a gloved hand and waved, Aloy waved back.

Then on impulse she gently seized the baby’s arm, which was very nearly waving already, and moved it in a tiny baby wave.

Erend let his hand drop to his heart, turned and said something to Brant before turning and booking it back up the way they had come.

Brant looked half indignant, half amused as he turned to look back up at Aloy. He shook his head, gave a small shrug then turned back to his rounds with a wave.

Warmth flooded Aloy as she looked down to the baby, who’s tiny fingers had wrapped around Aloy’s thumb. She walked them back into the apartment and within moments the front door was flung open, her armor clad husband smiling broadly as he came in.

“Did you just ditch Brant?” Aloy asked playfully, watching him close the door.

“It’s fine, I’m off duty for two days,” Erend said, crossing the distance between them quickly. “He’ll forget he’s mad at me by then.”Aloy’s eyes met his, as he brushed some of her hair back behind her ear. There in the blue depths of them she saw love and want and enchantment. “Besides that was just... so cute how could I not.”

  
As Erend stooped to kiss her, one arm firm around her waist, the other having joined her in supporting their daughter, Aloy thought of how seeing him asleep on the couch with the baby had affected her. She shouldn’t have been surprised at the passion, seeing each other in tender moments with their daughter increased their mutual yearning for intimacy.

He kissed her slowly, tenderly, and a bit of the anxiety Aloy has been carrying like a knot in her stomach seemed to release. Erend knew how and when to be gentle, and she was sure their next try would go better. Regardless it would be full of love and that was the important thing after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew this chapter was delicate to write. I hope it balances out correctly. I did a lot of research in writing this story and when I got to researching postpartum sex, well let’s say I read some interesting testimonials. Hahaha. 
> 
> Rest easy though knowing the next post will be housed over in the dirty bits section. Erend may need to draft Geir a thank you note. XD
> 
> Thanks so much for reading.
> 
> (To read the explicit chapter that follows this one visit [The Dirty Bits: Post-Partum](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10966968/chapters/33183060)


	21. Preparation

Time had gotten away from Aloy. It seemed like just yesterday that her daughter had been born, and yet it had been three months. Summer was out in full force, and Meridian was hotter than it had ever been since she’d moved there to be with Erend.

The cross breeze created by opening windows on either side of the apartment was only but so much to combat the temperatures. Usually by afternoon, Aloy was reduced to lying out on the sofa, watching the baby nap.

It was one day as she lounged, her hand across her own still mildly chubby tummy, that she realized she was going to have to make some changes if she wanted to be ready for their trip to the Motherland. The baby weight hadn’t necessarily been bothering her, but she needed to start planning ahead.

Being out of shape when the hardest physical effort she had to put out was lifting the baby was one thing, but traveling to the Motherland was going to require her to be in much better physical condition than she was in now. Not just for the trip there, but also for the naming ritual itself.

Aloy hadn’t exactly shared with Erend what the ceremony would entail, and had certainly not informed him that part of it would require her to scale a cliffside while carrying their six month old daughter on her back.

Subconsciously she’d been avoiding the topic all together to get around having to tell him this, but she knew she couldn’t dodge the conversation forever.

Aloy lost track of time mulling this over, she was drug back from her thoughts when the baby began to fuss. The sun was just starting to fall in the west, her husband would be home soon enough, so she put the situation from her mind and set about changing and cleaning the infant.

She heard the front door open and close just as she was securing the baby’s onesie back in place.

“I’m home!” Erend called.

He was in the bedroom stripping off his armor when she came out of the nursery. He made quick work of it, emerging in his striped shirt and trousers. He reached automatically for the baby, and Aloy gently released her into her father’s arms.

Watching Erend light up as he doted upon their daughter would never get old. He spent a while holding the infant before going to start dinner while Aloy nursed.

By the time he was plating the food, Aloy had made up her mind that she _would_ bring up what she needed to do to prepare for the trip.

Aloy settled the baby into her bassinet, leaning low over it to kiss the child’s head. Erend was watching her, a warm smile on his face, a plate in either hand. He slid them in place on the table as Aloy approached, then opened his arms for her to step into them.

Erend hugged her closely, a warm affection spreading through her as he gave her a gentle squeeze before releasing her to slide a chair out. Aloy sat in it and waited for him to retrieve glasses and a jug of juice prior to sitting himself.

“How was your day?” Aloy asked, cutting into the turkey he had prepared.

“It was alright,” Erend said. “Hot out there. Then again it’s hot in here, too.”

Aloy laughed, and pressed the back of her hand to her sweaty forehead for a brief moment. “I must admit, I’m not adapted to these temperatures.”

“You get used to it, but that doesn’t make it enjoyable,” Erend said, giving her a sympathetic look.

Aloy couldn’t imagine marching around in the sun wearing the heavy armor her husband wore daily. She watched as he downed his juice and was quick to refill it for him.

“After dinner I’ll draw you a cool bath,” she said. Erend smiled at her around a mouth fool of food, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they both ate the delicious meal he had prepared for them.

It wasn’t until his plate was clear that Erend seemed to realize his wife’s mind was elsewhere. “Everything okay?” he asked, eying her across the table as she played with the last of her food instead of ate it.

“Yeah, I just...” Aloy swallowed hard and pushed her plate away. “I just need to talk to you about something.”

She realized now that she was steeling herself, and that perhaps it would be best to rip the bandage right off.

“I need to start getting back into shape,” she said. “Physically, I mean.” Aloy gestured down at her body.

Erend frowned. “Aloy, you look beautiful just the way you are,” he said with a sigh. “In fact, I kind of like the way you look with a little more meat on your bones.”

Aloy let out a huff of air and slid her chair back from the table. “It’s not about how I look,” she said. “It’s about getting back to what I was once physically capable of doing.” She picked up her plate and dumped the leftover bits of food in the bin.

“What? Like fighting machines? Combat?” Erend’s voice was becoming tight, strained.

“Yes and no,” Aloy said. “I’m not saying I want to start going out on machine hunts but-.”

“But what?!”

So much for managing to have this conversation calmly, perhaps she should have waited for after his bath. He was staring at her from his seat, back stiff and tense. She didn’t meet his eye as she took away his empty plate and placed it with hers in the kitchen wash basin.

“In less than three months we have to make the journey to the Motherland,” Aloy said, keeping her voice level and calm. “I imagine you don’t want to fly there with the baby-.”

“Of course not!” Erend grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Which means traveling by ground. Which means needing to go out and get machines for the trip,” Aloy said. Erend looked like he wanted to interrupt again but she waved him off. “Even with machines we are looking at a two to three day trip where we might encounter wild machines, or bandits.”

With a scrape of chair legs on the flagstone kitchen floor, Erend stood. “Brant will be with us. He and I can handle machines and bandits alike,” he said, stepping out from behind the table. “Those aren’t things for you to be concerned about.”

It as difficult not to yell at him, to snap back. Aloy took a deep breath, turning her back on the basin and abandoning all pretense that she was about to clean the dinner dishes.

“Right, because I’m just a mother now,” she said in a calm voice that belied the frustration surging within her. “I don’t need to be able to do things. That’s what my husband is for.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Erend growled.

“But it’s what you said.”

Silence fell. They were standing a few feet apart in the kitchen, staring each other down. It was now Aloy who’s arms were crossed. Erend’s hands were in fists at his sides. When he didn’t say anything, Aloy decided to rip the rest of the bandage off.

“Even if I held back and let you take care of all of that,” Aloy said. “There’s still a matter of the climb.”

“The climb? What climb?” He was practically scowling now, eyes drifting between hers expectantly.

“It’s part of the naming ritual,” Aloy said. “The mother must scale the side of a mountain with her child to reach the peak where the naming will occur.”

Erend seemed to snap, shoulders tensing as he took a step towards her. “No, no, no way. Not happening,” he said, getting louder with each word. “There’s no way you’re climbing one of those insane Nora brave trail things carrying our daughter. Have you lost your mind?”

“Erend, it’s tradition. I don’t think we can do the naming ritual without-.”

“I DON’T CARE!” Erend bellowed, face turning red. “I COULD GIVE A RAT’S ASS ABOUT NORA TRADITION. It’s one thing to make me wait half a year to give her a name, but there’s no way you are risking both of your lives to finally do so.”

Aloy could only think of maybe one other time Erend had shouted at her like this. She was at a loss for words but was spared having to respond when the baby started to cry, clearly having been awoken by the commotion.

Erend seemed to deflate, pinching the bridge of his nose, shoulders sagging. Aloy turned from him, going to tend to the wailing child.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Aloy said in a soothing voice as she lifted the infant from the bassinet. The baby’s face was as red as her father’s, crying loudly and flailing tiny baby fists. “I’m sorry we woke you, everything is okay.”

Aloy didn’t look to her husband, but she could hear him moving around, coming into the living room. She ignored this, bouncing their daughter and humming in hopes of settling the child.

“I’m sorry.” Erend’s voice was closer than she expected. He had come up behind her, extending a hand hesitantly to touch her shoulder.

Aloy glanced back to him, and did not shrug off his hand. The baby’s cries were quieting.

“Are you apologizing to me or her?” Aloy asked. The sky beyond the windows was shot with red and orange as the sun set and already the air was cooling around them.

“Both,” Erend murmured, gently pulling Aloy’s back against his chest, hugging her from behind. “I shouldn’t have yelled.” He let his chin drop to her shoulder.

Finally fully ceasing her crying, the baby looked up to her parents’ faces, blinking rapidly. Aloy ran delicate fingers over the downy soft ginger baby hair, rocking both herself, the baby, and her husband in slow sure motions.

“I knew you’d hate the idea,” Aloy said, softly.

Erend let out a sigh, his breath hot on her neck. “It’s never been easy for me to watch _you_ doing climbs like that,” he said. “How am I supposed to sit back and watch you do one with this little Moonblossom? What if you fall? What if you drop her?”

“I’m not going to fall, because I’m going to train. And she is not going to fall,” Aloy said, bopping the infant’s nose gently with a finger, making the baby screw up her face momentarily. “Because Uncle Teb will have a special carrier for me to use. I asked him to make it when he came to visit for the wedding.”

Aloy felt Erend’s arms fall away from her sides. He planted firm hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him.

“I’m sorry I’m so overprotective,” Erend said, gazing earnestly into his wife’s eyes. “I never thought it was possible to love someone as much as I love you, then I met her.” He pointed down to their daughter held between them. “And... if anything happened to either of you...”

Erend trailed off, his voice cracking slightly, eyes going glassy.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Aloy allowed herself and the baby to be swept into his embrace. “This is why I want to start training, preparing. So that we will be safe.”

“Train hard then,” Erend said, a hand rising to her face, fingers tangling into her hair. “Whatever you need to make that possible I’ll help with. I promise.”

“See, I knew you’d get there eventually,” Aloy said, smiling for the first time since the conversation began. “I love you.”

Erend hunched his shoulders, capturing her lips with his in a loving kiss, the baby cooing between them.

—————-

“There are clean diapers in the nursery. She’s napping less by the day, so don’t be surprised if she doesn’t. If you need me, I’ll either be at the Lodge or on the training grounds,” Aloy was rattling off things a top speed, ticking them off on her fingers one by one.

“Aloy, everything is going to be fine,” Anehita said, bouncing the infant in her arms, and giving Aloy a patient smile. “I HAVE dealt with a fair few babies in my time. Delivered this one. I think I can handle babysitting.”

Aloy let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, we’ve just never left her completely with someone else before,” she said, stepping forward and stroking the baby’s hair.

“Just, come back for the mid-day feeding, and I’ll take care of everything else,” Anehita insisted, waiting long enough for the young mother to kiss her daughter on the forehead before gently urging her towards the door. “Now go.”

“Alright, alright, I’m going,” Aloy breathed, retrieving a small leather satchel from the hook by the door and slinging it over her shoulder. She spared one last look back, Anehita giving her a reassuring smile, before going out the door.

The streets weren’t crowded yet, not like they would be later, making for an uneventful walk to the Hunter’s Lodge on the west end of the mesa. Aloy checked on the stairs up to the porch, a hunter decked out in weapons and machine parts passing her in the opposite direction paid her absolutely no mind.

It had been too long since she’d stepped foot on any of the Hunting Grounds, or the Lodge itself, and she was unsure what sort of greeting she might receive inside. She steeled herself, taking in a deep breath before pushing herself up the last steps and in through the heavy wooden door.

Being as early as it was, the tavern area up front was sparsely populated. The barkeep, a beautiful Carja woman, was swabbing the bar and didn’t even look up as the door clunked closed.

Aloy gazed up at the slightly mangled metal corpse of a Thunderjaw dangling from the high angled ceiling of the Lodge. It was Red Maw, the trophy that had garnered Talanah the position of Sun-Hawk. Aloy had helped bring down the beast herself what felt like ages ago.

“Well, well, well, the prodigal Thrush returns,” a confident voice filtered down the curved center stairs. Talanah was descending them slowly, one hand on the railing, the other on her hip. She was done up in her usual regalia, an elaborate Carja headdress held in place with a golden chin strap. “Aloy _despite_ the Nora, to what do I owe the honor?”

The Sun-Hawk had stopped half way down, a smile on her dark painted lips. All eyes were now on Aloy as she rose up the stairs to meet her friend, gripping the strap on her bag unnecessarily.

“Talanah, it’s been a while,” Aloy greeted. The Sun-Hawk turned as they came level with one another, and ushered Aloy up the stairs.

“A few months, yes,” Talanah said. “Since the shower turned wedding you threw at the palace. I had been hoping to run into you at the first annual celebration of our success at the Spire, but we both know how that turned out.”

She’d walked them up the stairs and out onto the balcony that overlooked the valley. A warm summer breeze blew across as they settled at the railing.

“It’s good to see you. I hope the Lodge is running well,” Aloy said.

“Actually, we’re flourishing,” Talanah said. “We’ve had an influx of new female Thrushes since word spread that the place is being run by a woman. We’ve even had talks of expanding the number of Hawks, but I’ve gotten push back on that from a couple of the older members.”

“Change is never quick or easy,” Aloy said, leaning on the rail, eyes out to the valley though she was looking right past it more than anything.

“Something tells me this isn’t just a courtesy call to check in on the Lodge,” Talanah said, eying the side of Aloy’s face and pursing those dark lips of hers.

Laughing, Aloy turned to face her Hawk .”Not so much. I actually came here to ask for your help.”

“The last time you asked for my help we had to save the world.”

“Nothing that urgent this time,” Aloy said, chuckling again. “I need your help training. I’ve got to get back into shape. I have a ground trip back to the Motherland in a couple months and, when I get there, a difficult climb to make with my daughter in tow.”

Talanah let out a low whistle. “I’m sure Erend is absolutely thrilled about that last bit,” she said. Then she began to sweep her eyes over Aloy as if taking her fully in for the first time. “You weren’t thinking of training in _that_ were you?”

Aloy was wearing a long silk skirt and a loose fitting tunic, the clothing she had taken to wearing around the house. Compared to Talanah’s fierce Carja armor it provided little freedom of motion or protection.

“No, I just don’t fit properly in any of my armors at the moment,” Aloy said, accidentally letting a twinge of self-conscious sadness into her voice. She smoothed the silk over her slightly chubby belly to illustrate.

“Not to worry, I should be able to help you with that too,” Talanah said, bumping her shoulder into Aloy’s. “When do we start?”

—————-

Erend would have been lying if he said he was genuinely okay with his wife training again. He had just known fighting it would be a waste of time.

Aloy was more stubborn than he was. She was also, probably, right but he’d refused to admit that even to himself.

So instead he’d accommodated as best as he could. On his off duty days, usually days spent together, he watched their daughter without complaint while Aloy trained. When she’d come home dressed in intricate Carja armor like Talanah’s he had told her she looked fierce and beautiful.

By the end of the first month her cute little paunch of a tummy was gone. Now just looking at her you would never even know she’d given birth four months prior.

Usually when Aloy went training on a day Erend had duty, he didn’t hardly notice a difference in their routine. She was there when he left for work in the morning and already back home before he returned. He had expected today to be no different but this turned out not to be the case.

He and Brant were on rounds, having descended the elevators into the village they made their way to the Western Gate to check in with the Vanguard there.

Gunnar was on duty, and greeted them jovially as always. “Cap, your wife came through here not that long ago,” he said. “With the Sun-Hawk.”

Erend immediately looked past the Vanguard and out into the West as if he was going to just see her out there. Brant was talking but it took only a few seconds before he realized the Captain was not listening to him at all.

“Oh, will you just go,” Brant said, pushing Erend forward towards the gate.

Swallowing, Erend turned to see both the Vanguard looking at him with barely hidden amusement. He let out a sigh, murmured his thanks, and listened Gunnar’s directions to follow the trail to the North around the nearest mesa.

It was a sunny day, sweat clung to Erend’s brow as he made the hike. He wasn’t sure what exactly to look for but, as he rounded a bend he heard Talanah shouting and followed the sound through some lush palms.

She was standing at the base of an all but sheer cliff, shielding her eyes as she looked up it. “You’re doing great!”

Erend’s breath caught in his throat, eyes flying up the cliffside until he spotted her. Aloy was two thirds of the way up, hanging by some finger hold he couldn’t even perceive from this far down, strapped to her back was a bundle-the baby!

Irrational anger rose in Erend’s chest. He wanted to shout up at her, ask what the hell she thought she was doing, but the last thing he wanted to do was startle her and cause her to fall. Fists clenched at his side, his glare fell upon Talanah as he advanced on her station, all rationality forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loyal readers who are hopefully still out there. >.<
> 
> I had a bit of a whirlwind month here in my personal life which kept me from writing or I should say writing efficiently. 
> 
> First, and I think it's okay to say this because I'm about a week from being "out of the woods" so to speak, I found out that I am pregnant! Part of writing this/AtSP with the pregnancy was working through my own decision as to whether or not my partner and I were ready to have a child. We decided we were and it happened fairly quickly. More quickly than we expected to tell you the truth. 
> 
> Second, on top of that we moved. And I tell ya I know now how Aloy felt moving while pregnant and not being allowed to lift or move anything herself. I'm still working on unpacking and we are still cleaning the old place. Basically we still aren't settled but here's hoping we will be soon. 
> 
> Lastly, my treacherous mind has come up with yet ANOTHER Aloy/Erend story that I keep claiming I'm not writing and yet somehow have over 5000 words on it. I have sworn to myself however that it will not see the light of day until WwaV comes to a close. But it's presence in my brain is a distraction to say the least. 
> 
> Hopefully though, I won't hit another block and WwaV will start to flow out again. 
> 
> Thank you all for your patience and thank you for still reading.


	22. The Focus

Anger bubbled in Erend’s chest as he advanced through the underbrush to reach Talanah. She of course heard him, whipping around and reaching for her weapon in one fluid motion.

Relief washed over her face as she recognized him, but it was short lived as she took in his demeanor. “Erend, you scared me half to death,” she said, then a concerned tone to her voice asked: “What’s wrong?”

“I’ll tell you what’s wrong,” Erend said, in a low growl, reminding himself that Aloy was climbing above their heads so he shouldn’t shout. “You’re letting her train _with the baby_.”

Talanah laughed, which only served to annoy him further. She checked Aloy’s position and when she looked back to him he had advanced on her further, towering over her and glaring down into her face.

“You think this is funny?” he asked.

“What’s funny is that you actually think your wife or I are that irresponsible,” Talanah hissed, shoving him backwards and into the line of trees. “Stay.”

Erend was too stunned not to do as he was told. She was putting him out of sight form the cliff, and he realized why a moment later when Aloy’s voice called down from above.

“I made it!”

Talanah was craning her neck to look up, shielding her eyes from the sun once more. “I never doubted you would,” she called back. “You should sit and have a rest before you climb down.”

Dropping her eyes back down, Talanah’s smile slid off of her face as she turned to look at Erend again. It was her turn to advance menacingly, and for someone who was a good head shorter than him Erend was surprised at how effective it was.

She jabbed a finger into his shoulder.

“You’re lucky I decided to keep you from acting a fool in front of Aloy,” Talanah said. “That _baby_ on her back is a bag of corn meal from the mill. Your daughter is at home with the midwife.”

Erend felt his cheeks warm, and embarrassed flush taking over his face. He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as his anger ebbed away to be replaced with shame.

“After she’s been gushing for weeks about how _supportive_ you’ve been even though she _knows_ it’s been hard for you,” Talanah chastised. She jabbed him in the shoulder again until he opened his eyes to look at her again. “You’re _lucky_ I am going to assume this was a gut response and I’m going to allow you to pull yourself together before she climbs back down here.”

“I’m sorry,” Erend managed. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Talanah said, finally backing out of his personal space. “Now stay put, if she knows you’re watching the climb down she may get nervous.”

She left him there among the trees after that. He felt like an idiot. Of course Aloy wouldn’t take the baby out climbing without talking to him first. He could hear them shouting back and forth to each other, not absorbing what they were saying.

Erend only managed to pull himself together, tamping down the nauseating guilt, when Aloy was about half way down the cliff face. He stepped from the trees, eyes intently on her as she climbed expertly, sack of corn meal still securely strapped to her back.

Now he examined it more closely he could very clearly tell it was not a baby.

He could feel Talanah’s eyes on him, but he chose not to look at her, knowing the expression on her face would only serve to make him feel more guilty.

Aloy spotted him the moment she made ground, the wide smile that crossed her face at the sight of him somehow only made him feel worse for his behavior.

“Erend!” She seemed flush with adrenaline from the climb, throwing her arms around him and pressing a firm kiss along his jawline. “What’re you doing here?”

She stepped back, swinging her pack from her shoulder.

“When I came by the Western gate on rounds Gunnar mentioned he saw you two go by,” Erend answered, surprised as she shoved the sack of corn meal into his hands.

“Does this feel as heavy as the baby?” she asked.

Erend tested it, cradling it in his arms. “Heavier, actually.”

“Well, she’ll grow a bit before I have to make the climb,” Aloy said, with a smile, taking the pack from him and setting it on the ground, then before he realized she was sliding her arms around his neck and tugging him down into a kiss.

Talanah cleared her throat and turned away from them. Erend almost hesitantly slid his hands to his wife’s bare sides. She was in a Carja outfit that left her midriff completely exposed, and with the training she’d been doing he felt toned muscle beneath his fingers. He didn’t deserve this attention, he knew, but he wasn’t going to push her away.

“So, training’s going well?” Erend asked, their noses brushing together.

“Really well,” she said, her smile so big he felt his spirits lift just looking at her. “I mean, I know no matter how many of these training climbs I do its still gonna be nerve wracking doing it for the ritual, but I know I can do it.”

“You can do anything you set your mind to,” he said. “It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.”

Aloy kissed him again before releasing him from her embrace. “I love you too,” she said. “I gotta do another run of this, you sticking around?”

At this Erend shook his head. “Nah, I think I’ll go relieve Anehita and let you work,” he said, his hands sliding from her sides. “I’ll see you at home later. Good to see you Talanah.”

Talanah turned and gave him a curt nod that Aloy did not seem to notice. His wife was already fastening the pack of corn meal back onto her shoulder. “Alright sweetie, I’ll see you at home,” Aloy said, turning back to him long enough to bestow one last kiss on his cheek before he left.

—————-

Erend trudged dejectedly home. He could have gone and finished rounds with Brant but his mood was iffy. he hoped seeing his daughter would improve it.

The moment he walked in he knew something was wrong. Anehita had practically jumped out of her skin when she heard the door and was now fidgeting with something concealed in her hands looking stricken.

“What’s wrong?” Erend went automatically to the bassinet, fear cloying at his chest.

“The baby is fine,” Annie blurted out. “It’s just... you see she...”

Erend’s infant daughter did seem to be just fine, reaching up towards her father’s face when he leaned over to check on her. He pressed a finger into one of her tiny hands and she clasped it.

“Then what is it?” he asked, looking back up.

“Well, you know how she’s at that adorable phase where she puts everything in her mouth?” Annie asked, then she opened her hands to show him.

Resting on her palm was a drool covered, gnawed upon Focus. The casing was cracked and the blue light that normally shone on it was completely dead. Erend’s heart sank.

“I don’t even know where she got it from!” Annie’s voice was high and slightly panicked. “We took a bit of a nap on the sofa and when I woke up she had it in her mouth!”

Erend took the device from Anehita and sank down onto the sofa with a heavy sigh.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

“It’s not your fault,” he said, shaking his head. “If it is anyone’s fault it’s mine.” Erend turned the Focus over between his fingers feeling more and more desolate by the moment. He’d hardly used the device in months but was quite certain Aloy would expect him to have it for their upcoming trip to the Motherland. “I’m just relieved she didn’t choke on it.”

Anehita gasped, clearly having not even considered this possibility. Then she went to the bassinet to check the infant as if she could be choking now despite the fact that the Focus was still in Erend’s hand.

Meanwhile Erend was quietly stewing, staring off into space while he tried to figure out how he would tell Aloy his Focus was broken. He felt guilty for so many things at the moment and couldn’t seem to resolve a way to make himself feel better.

After a lengthy silence, Anehita finally spoke again. “Are you okay?”

Looking up he saw her concerned gaze, as she straightened from where she’d been bent over the baby. Erend swallowed and held up the tiny destroyed device.

“This right here is a monument to what a failure I am at being a good husband,” he said, with another sigh. “I don’t deserve her, I really don’t.”

“Erend, what are you talking about?” Annie came around the bassinet, her brow furrowed in concern. She plopped down on the sofa right next to him. “You aren’t a bad husband.”

A hollow sarcastic laugh left Erend’s throat. “Yes, I am. I’ve just been pretending,” he said, tossing the broken device down on the tea table so that it skittered away, nearly falling off the other side. “Do you wanna know why the Focus was between the cushions on the couch?”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve been using it to check Aloy’s location when she’s out training,” he said, self-loathing dripping in his voice. “I’ve been spying on her. And one day I went to check and she was outside the door so I had to hide it.”

“Oh, _Erend_ ,” Anehita sighed.

“I fell in love with a beautiful, brave, war maiden and I’m trying to turn her into a house wife,” he said. “She deserves so much more than me being jealous over her _training_. So yes: I am a bad husband.”

Erend let his face fall into his hands, his elbows on his knees as silence descended. For a couple minutes he thought she was just going to let him sulk, then quietly, defiantly, she broke the silence.

“You’re wrong.” Erend slowly lifted his head to look at her. She waited a beat and then pressed on. “The fact you’re sitting here worried about this shows how much you care. Not only that but you’ve been nothing but supportive of her training even when it’s been eating away at you like this.”

“Well...” Erend said. “I want her to be happy.”

Annie gave him a reassuring smile and bumped her shoulder into his. “Which makes you a _good_ husband,” she said. “Because that’s it. That’s the job. You marry someone because you love them and you want to spend the rest of your life making them happy. That’s why I’m marrying Brant.”

“You made him immensely happy just by saying yes,” Erend joked, unfolding from himself to sit up straighter.

“Sometimes the job is that easy, sometimes it’s not,” Annie said. “And I think you need to talk to Aloy about all this. She wants _you_ to be happy, too. Don’t forget that.”

“Not going to have much of a choice,” Erend said, rising from the seat and plucking the broken Focus up from the table. “I’m going to have to find some way to tell her about this.” Then he slid the device into a pocket on his trousers.

Anehita stood to check on the baby. “She’s gone to sleep.”

“Let her nap,” Erend said, making his way towards the bedroom to shed his armor. “You can go, thanks for watching her and... for the talk.”

—————-

Later that night, as Aloy snoozed draped across his chest, Erend lie awake. He had chickened out of talking to her about everything when she got home, choosing instead to enjoy dinner with her, and then once they’d put the baby down to sleep his thoughts about discussing the matter had been shoved to the side when she’d started pulling him into the bed.

One of the benefits of her getting back into shape had been increased energy and with that came some increased friskiness. Erend felt mildly ashamed he’d let her sidetrack him, she’d fallen immediately asleep after and left him to his guilt.

Erend would like to think that Anehita was right, that he wasn’t a bad husband but he still felt like he wasn’t handling things well. He pressed his cheek against the top of Aloy’s head, and she shifted slightly in her sleep, her arm tightening across him. He loved her so damn much, she’d given him everything he had ever wanted and he felt like he’d given so little in return.

As he drifted to sleep he vowed he would do better, and, though it might take some time, he would get up the courage to tell her about the Focus and his struggles with her training again.

So over the next week or so, Erend started doing little things for his wife. He brought home flowers from the market to give her, as well as her favorite fruits. When she came back from training, he would draw her aromatic bubble baths for her to soak in. He prepared and packed snacks for her to take when she went out with Talanah for climbs, and happily watched over the baby so that she could do so as much as she wanted.

He did his best to be the perfect husband, and by the end of the week he was feeling better about things.

Brant and Anehita were due over for dinner, so Aloy had actually taken one of Erend’s off duty days to stay in, instead of training, to be home with Erend and the baby while they cleaned up the house a bit and Erend did the cooking.

Having Aloy home all day for once had put Erend in an immensely good mood. He was all smilies as he chopped vegetables for the meal, glancing over his shoulder now and again to watch his wife on the floor with their daughter.

Once again she’d spread a fluffy fur over the living room floor and covered it with Carja silk for the baby to roll around on. She’d also pulled a few of the decorative pillows from the sofa. The baby wasn’t quite able to sit up on her own yet, but with some help and a pillow to prop upon she could be sat up and Erend couldn’t be prouder.

“Don’t you go chopping off a finger because you’re watching us more than what you’re doing,” Aloy joked. She was smiling as she said it, sat with her legs criss cross alongside the baby.

Erend chuckled before reluctantly turning back to what he was doing. He was well into actually cooking the meal before Brant and Anehita turned up. Aloy heaved herself up off the floor to answer the door.

“Hello, hello!” Brant greeted as the couple slid into the apartment. Anehita immediately hugged Aloy before she could even get the door closed behind their guests.

Erend pulled the frying pan off of the flame of the stove and sat it upon an Oseram steel trivet to begin cooling before joining them all in the living room

“Cap!” Brant said, following this with a congenial punch to the shoulder. “I actually brought a special gift with me for the little one.”

He pulled from a pocket, with a bit of flourish, what appeared to be a miniature wooden version of an Oseram war maul, the hammer-like weapon that all Vanguard carried, and Erend’s main weapon of choice. Aloy had found her way to her husband’s side, and was looking down surprised at the small carved toy.

Erend took it and turned it over in his hand.

“It’s made out of a very soft wood,” Brant said. “So it’ll be safe for her to gnaw on. That way maybe she’ll stop chewing on things she shouldn’t, like your Focus.”

Aloy stiffened beside him, turning to look up at her husband as he withheld a groan. “She got a hold of your Focus?”

Anehita, who had joined the baby on the floor, kneeling next to her, looked up. “You didn’t tell yer yet.”

This was not a question, and Erend didn’t respond to it, instead turning to Aloy who had crossed her arms over her chest and was looking up at him with her eyebrows arched. He turned and handed the toy back to Brant.

“Will you excuse us for just a second,” Erend said, then he slid an arm around Aloy’s shoulders and pulled her away into their bedroom. She let him, and didn’t speak as he released her to close the door.

When he didn’t immediately say anything, instead turning to her with his shoulders hunched, she broke the silence. “Erend...”

“I’m sorry,” he said, finding it hard to look at her, not wanting to see her reaction. “I should have told you when it happened, but our curious little Moonblossom got a hold of my Focus.” He went to the dresser, and inside his drawer, rolled into a pair of boot liners, was the broken focus. He handed it to Aloy before going and sitting down on the edge of their bed.

“Wow, I can’t believe she can gnaw hard enough to have cracked this,” Aloy said. Erend let out a long sigh, looking down at his own folded hands. “Is this why you stopped checking my location while I was out training.”

That got him to look up. “You knew?”

Somehow, miraculously, she was looking amused. A soft smile turned up the edges of her lips, and her eyes were kind when he met them. “Well, yes, you aren’t fully versed in how to work this thing, so you left a trail,” she said. “I didn’t say anything because I thought you just... needed to know where I was.”

“I guess I haven’t been doing so well with you training again,” Erend admitted, swallowing down the knot that had developed in his throat.

He didn’t realize she had walked right up on him, too busy staring down at his own hands. Then he felt her hand slide across the shaved portion of his head, fingers running gently into his mohawk.

“And yet you’ve not tried to stop me doing it,” she said, bowing her head to kiss the top of his. “You must love me or something.”

Erend looked up, Aloy’s nose brushing past his forehead as he did so. “So so much,” he said. “And I’m so sorry.”

“This is just a thing,” Aloy said, holding up the broken focus before tossing it haphazardly onto the bed. She reached forward with both hands gentle fingers easing over his facial hair and then along his jaw to his neck and down to his shoulders. “Sure I wanted you to have it for the trip, but I can also replace it on the trip.”

He had been so sure she’d be furious, and yet as she gently squeezed his shoulder, she smiled at him. “I do not deserve you,” he said, the words out of his mouth before he’d realized.

“Beg to differ,” Aloy said, leaning down and planting a firm kiss on his lips. “Now, we have guests for dinner.” She took two steps away and then turned offering him her hand.

Erend took it, fingers coiling around hers as she pulled him to his feet. Before she reached for the door, she paused and looked back. “I love you.”

Smiling finally, Erend gave her hand a squeeze. “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy guys! I want to thank you all for the well wishes last chapter! I’m doing well with the pregnancy, but I do feel tired ALL the time. It’s really taking a toll on writing because my writing time keeps turning into nap time. XD
> 
> I hope this chapter played right. I love these two so much and I feel like Aloy understands Erend sometimes better than h understands himself. 
> 
> Coming up we have Brant and Annie’s wedding and then the trip to the Motherland which has a bunch of important stuff planned in it. 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me guys.


	23. Boar’s Bash

Anehita looked up as Aloy and Erend returned, concern painted across her face as she peered up from her kneeling position next to the baby. The midwife seemed to relax as her eyes swept over the couple. Aloy was still holding Erend’s hand and she gave her friend a reassuring smile.

“I’ll get to finishing dinner,” Erend said, tugging his wife closer for a quick kiss before releasing her.

Brant trailed Erend into the kitchen, leaving Aloy to sink down onto the cushy blanket. The baby was swinging her new tiny Oseram war hammer and a faint rattling was emanating from it. Aloy’s smile widened as she watched this.

“Everything okay?” Anehita asked quietly.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Aloy answered. “He just...” she let out a sigh before pressing on. “He’s too good at bottling things up. Fortunately I think I can slow down on the training now that I’m back in shape, spend more time at home. We’ve got your wedding right around the corner and they the trip immediately after.”

“You’re still okay with Brant and I coming along?” Annie asked, absentmindedly patting the baby’s ginger hair.

“Oh, I’m _glad_ you’re coming,” Aloy assured her. “Talanah may be coming too and you know... safety in numbers.”

Aloy was actually starting to get nervous about traveling such a distance with the baby. She’d grown accustomed to the safety of Meridian, and the road to the Motherland was not nearly as safe. It was a trip she’d never felt the need to be nervous about before, but having a child meant there was a life that she prized more than her own.

The baby tossed down the rattle and began to fuss, drawing Aloy from her worries. Anehita scooped the baby up, feeling the infant’s backside, which must have been dry because her next words were “must be her dinner time.”

“It is,” Aloy said, standing up before bending to take her fussing child from Anehita. The mother and child settled on the couch and filled the remaining time before Erend was done cooking by nursing. Once the little one had her fill she promptly began to fall asleep in Aloy’s arms.

“Dinner is served,” Erend called from the kitchen, as Aloy settled the baby into her bassinet.

The two couples set down around the dining table, setting about digging into one of Erend’s delicious stir fries.

“What were you boys whispering about in the kitchen?” Anehita asked, unfolding a cloth napkin and spreading it over her knees.

“Making plans for the Boar’s Bash,” Erend answered simply, still standing as he filled everyone’s water glasses.

“What’s a Boar’s Bash?” Aloy asked, spearing some vegetables from her plate.

Anehita rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. “It’s this party a man has the night before he’s married,” she answered. “Like their last hurrah before they get tied down.”

“Basically,” Brant said, laughing at how nonplussed Annie seemed about the whole thing. “It’s just a night of drinking and lamenting with the guys. Not all that different than a night before going to battle.”

“Oh, now marrying me is like going into battle?” Anehita asked.

“It is, it’s like fighting a Thunderjaw,” Brant joked. “I’ll show up armed to the teeth, belt full of traps.” Then his face sobered and he reached a hand out to cover hers on the table. “It’s just a silly Oseram tradition, we don’t have to if you would rather I didn’t. I mean Erend didn’t either remember?”

Aloy laughed. “There wouldn’t have been time,” she said. “We went from engaged, to married in a matter of hours.”

Erend looked up from his food, smiling. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “But seriously, there’s no need to worry. I’ll be there to babysit, and drag his drunk ass here to sleep when he’s done.”

The girls laughed, as Brant looked scandalized, and the friends forged on with a dinner full of laughs and camaraderie.

—————-

Three weeks later, on the night before the wedding, Erend was dressing to go out for the Boar’s Bash as Aloy sat perched on the bed, next to the baby who was now capable of sitting up completely without pillow support. Erend kept glancing to this over his shoulder, smiling proudly.

“I imagine you’ll be out pretty late,” Aloy said, running a hand over the baby’s round head, over the silky ginger hair that curled at the ends in an adorable way.

“You shouldn’t wait up,” Erend confirmed, fastening his belt. He was dressed in his usual under armor garb, as he had said most of the Vanguard would just be coming straight from duty.

Aloy wanted to ask if she should expect him to come home intoxicated. He hadn’t drank in months, but she wouldn’t begrudge him if he did tonight, so long as he kept it within a reasonable limit. She kept this question to herself though, as a knocking could be heard coming from the front door.

Erend left Aloy to scoop up the baby as he went to answer it. The child let out an adorable giggle from the momentum, as Aloy settled her against her hip.

Anehita was already inside the entry way, snaking her bag off of her to hang on the rack by the door. “Brant’s down in the square,” she said, answering the unspoken question. “We ran into two of the men on the way over here, they’re all ready to get the party started.”

Aloy could actually just hear Gunnar, talking far too loudly down below, through the still ajar door. Erend could too, rolling his eyes slightly as he turned to bid them farewell.

“Guess I better not keep them waiting,” he said, stepping up to Aloy, one hand finding purchase on her hip, the other wrapping around her arm where it supported their daughter. He stooped down, lips finding Aloy’s in a quick kiss. “I promise to behave myself.”

Aloy muffled a laugh at this proclamation, instead pressing a kiss along the line of his mohawk as he bent to kiss the baby. Then he was gone out the front door, and Annie was closing it behind him.

She reached for the baby and Aloy relinquished her daughter.

“You sure you don’t want to do something more than hang out with me and the baby?” Aloy asked, leading them into the sitting room.

“Are you kidding me? A quiet night with the girls IS my idea of a party,” Annie said, bouncing the child in her arms and eliciting cute giggling gurgles. “The boys can have their alcohol and their loud bars, I’m good spending this evening relaxing for the big day tomorrow.”

—————-

The bar was already getting loud, filled with the boisterous voices of just about every member of the Vanguard who wasn’t currently on duty. And, if Erend wasn’t mistaken, a couple who were supposed to be on duty somewhere.

Erend wasn’t the captain right now though, so he turned a blind eye to this. Tonight he was here to celebrate with Brant, not in the capacity of his boss, but his friend.

That hadn’t stopped him from reserving the captain’s table for them, his only show of rank for the evening. He let Brant have the head of the table, sinking down next to him and ordering nothing when the barmaid came around asking.

This did not, however, stop someone from obtaining a tankard for him, full to the brim with mouth watering amber liquid topped with white foam. Erend swallowed a knot in his throat as it was slid his way along the table, and despite himself reached for it to slide it even closer.

He didn’t drink it though, instead he pulled a waterskin from his belt and took a long sip of that instead.

“Where’d that come from?” Brant asked, turning his attention back from talking to one of the other men who had brought him a shot of liquor.

“Gunnar I think,” Erend answered, arms crossed on the table, the tankard sitting still untouched at his elbow. “Figured I’d leave it there.”

“Good call, Cap,” Brant said, reaching his own partially drunken glass and clinking it to the brim of Erend’s tankard on the table. “You don’t need to drink it, I’m just glad you’re here.”

Erend’s shoulders relaxed, and he sat back up from where he’d been partially slumped on the table. “Me too, brother,” Erend said. “I’m so happy for you.”

Brant beamed, and then chugged back the mead that was left in his cup. He waited approximately half a minute before another Vanguard was pushing a fresh drink into his hand.

Fortunately, leaving the drink he had set in front of him seemed to be discouraging Erend’s fellows from sending him more. He knew most of the men didn’t understand his sobriety, as Oseram tended towards being heavy drinkers all around. Not only that but so long as all of them had known him before Aloy, he’d always been happy to be right there with them for any excuse to drink.

That was a different life though, he knew. He couldn’t even imagine how drinking could fit into his current life. Why would he come daily to a bar when he could spend that time with Aloy and the baby?

Erend took to people watching, keeping an eye on Brant in particular as he got more and more intoxicated as the evening wore on. There was no shortage of drinks for the honored guest. His face was getting more and more red behind his goatee, as he brushed off the many jokes about how marriage was like prison, or purgatory presented by men who could hardly keep a girl for a week, let alone a lifetime.

When Brant returned to him from making social rounds, he pounded Erend in the shoulder. “I am so proud of you for not drinking this,” he half-slurred, seizing the tankard from in front of Erend and chugging it partially back before replacing it so enthusiastically that some of it sloshed over Erend’s arm.

Drawing his arm back, Erend wrung out his sleeve and laughed. “And now thanks to you it looks and smells like I did.”

“Gotta keep up Oseram appearances,” Brant said, punching Erend in the shoulder again, harder than was necessary.

Much later, Erend had to essentially carry Brant home with him. Anehita had given him permission to crash on Erend’s couch, which was a good thing because he was in no state to be seen by his bride.

“So many stairs,” Brant slurred. “What floor do you even live on?”

Erend chuckled. “The second,” he answered, as they reached the front door, presenting him with the challenge of supporting his drunk friend while also unbolting the lock. “And if you wake the baby I’m going to push you down those stairs.”

Brant lowered his voice to a husky whisper that wasn’t all that quiet. “Yes, sir, no baby waking for me.” He stumbled on his own feet as Erend guided him around the coffee table and to the sofa in the sitting room.

“I can safely say I’ve never seen you this drunk,” Erend said, lowering Brant onto the cushions. “Let me get you some water.”

Brant was kicking off his boots, and as they clattered to the floor shushing them. When Erend returned with the glass of water Brant gulped it down before handing it back in a silent request for another.

By the time Erend returned though, Brant was passed out sprawled across the decorative silk pillows. Erend set the glass of water down on the table for him should he wake up, and then scooted a waste bin in range should he wake up and need to hurl.

He was just turning to go towards the bedroom, thinking of curling up with his sleeping wife, when the nursery door creaked open startling him.

—————-

Erend whipped around, hand coming to his own chest as Aloy stepped out of the nursery. Then his body relaxed as his eyes swept over her.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Aloy said quietly, closing the nursery door behind her. “She needed a late night change. And then since you weren’t home I just sort of stayed in there rocking her in the chair until I heard you come in.”

Truth was, she couldn’t sleep without him there beside her. She’d been worried for some reason, and as she approached him she remembered why. He smelled heavily of mead, and her heart sank just a little as he reached for her to pull her in for a kiss.

Then his lips met hers, and she uncoiled. There wasn’t the faintest trace of alcohol on his lips or in his breath. He was sober. She pulled back, smiling but scrunching her nose at him.

“Why does it smell like you bathed in ale before you came home?” she asked.

Erend laughed, his face nuzzled in her hair, his arms holding her tight. “Brant spilled on me,” Erend said. “I can wash up before I come to bed.”

Aloy shook her head, tugging him towards the bedroom. “We’ll just have to get you out of those clothes,” she said, giving him a sly smile over her shoulder.

“Oh, well, in that case,” he said, suddenly moving much quicker, pulling her into the bedroom.

—————-

As late as they’d gotten to bed, Aloy had been mildly concerned they might all over sleep for the wedding, but she needn’t have worried.

Not long after sunrise the baby’s cries rang through the apartment, more effective than any alarm. Aloy sat bolt upright next to Erend, the silk sheets falling from her naked frame. Erend, who’d been wrapped around her tighter than the covers, let out a groan as she slid out of the bed.

“I can get her,” he said in a dozy voice. “You had her all night.”

Aloy was already shouldering on a robe, shaking her head, her bed mussed hair flowing around her face in the morning light. “You’ve got a groom to rouse off the sofa,” she said.

Her husband let out a second groan, and then swung his legs from beneath the bed coverings. Aloy spared his bare backside one last glance as he stood before leaving to tend to the baby.

Brant hadn’t so much as stirred when she passed through he living area to the nursery, where the baby was sitting up in the crib bawling.

“It’s okay, Moonblossom,” Aloy said in a soothing voice. “Mama is here.”

By the time Aloy was finished nursing and dressing the child, Erend had managed to get the groom sitting up on the couch.

“Not drinking that sludge,” he said, voice heavy, eyes screwed up as he waved Erend away.

“You’re getting married in a few hours, you need to get moving and this will help,” Erend insisted, holding out a glass of greenish goop Aloy recognized as Ersa’s hangover cure.

Aloy deposited the baby into her bassinet and with a silent look made sure Erend would be looking after her so that Aloy could go get ready. He gave her a firm nod and a smile before she slipped off to the washroom.

She bathed as quickly as she could, and then padded wrapped in her robe to the bedroom to get dressed. Brant was seated at the dining table as she passed through, half drank hangover cure in front of him. She could smell Erend’s cooking as she passed but didn’t linger.

Aloy didn’t allow herself to stop moving until she was fully dressed, in her long blue and gold dress from a time before she had ever had a baby, and had tamed her hair.

“You look lovely,” Erend said, as she joined them finally in the kitchen. “You going to rush off to help Annie get ready?”

“I’ll eat first, and then yes,” she said. Erend slid a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her, and planted a kiss on her forehead.

—————-

“If you cry you’ll mess up all that intricate Carja make-up,” Aloy reminded Anehita, as the bride took a look at herself in the mirror in her long white silk gown for the first time.

Aloy was bouncing her daughter on her hip, smiling as her friend met her eyes in the mirror.

“I just can’t believe it’s actually happening,” Anehita said. “In a few minutes, I’ll be married.”

It was a quarter to noon, the time at which the ceremony would begin. The Carja with all their obsessions over the Sun traditionally performed marriages when the Sun was at it’s highest to “witness” the union.

There was a knock at the door, and both women looked around as Erend cracked it open.

“It’s time,” he said, eyes sliding from Aloy holding their daughter to Anehita.

“I better go find a place,” Aloy said, scooping a bouquet of flowers that were as white as the bride’s gown up off a side table and handing them to Annie. “Good luck.”

Erend waited for her. He was in a d reds shirt and slacks, looking handsome as he offered Aloy his elbow. He led them across the cobbled street to the Sun Ring, the main Temple of the Sun in Meridian.

It was unfortunate the place still reminded her of Elof’s funeral. She shoved this thought aside as Erend turned her to stand among the onlookers. There were more people present than she had expected, as weddings in the temple were open to all worshipers of the Sun.

Brant was already standing with the Sun Priest, in his full uniform that he’d clearly gone to great lengths to clean and polish beforehand. Aloy knew the moment Anehita came into view because his face lit up like a sunrise.

The bride made the walk alone. Anehita had no family alive to walk her, but this didn’t seem to be weighing on her at all as she made slow, steady steps towards the altar. She only had eyes for Brant.

The whole thing filled Aloy’s heart with hope and love. She scooted just a little bit closer to her husband, as the Sun Priest called the affair to order. Erend’s arm came down around her shoulders, their daughter held between them.

The priest was long winded, making Aloy grateful the King had presided over their wedding instead. She couldn’t help but tune out the blather about the Sun until they arrived at the vows.

“My beautiful Annie,” Brant began, clasping one of her hands between both of his. “When I went storming into a burning building to save prisoners, I never would have guessed I’d find my soulmate. You were patient with me when I was clueless. You were firm with me when I needed direction. And I’m so glad we found each other in this life. I love you.”

Then he slid a band, not all that dissimilar to the ones Aloy and Erend wore, up next to Anehita’s engagement ring.

Anehita was clearly trying to keep from crying, tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes.

“Brant,” she said, his name coming out in a wistful sigh. “I never really had anyone. Even before I was taken, I’d been on my own. Then I thought I’d never have the chance to find someone, but then you showed up, and our wonderful friends. That’s when I realized family isn’t just about bloodlines. It’s who you choose to surround yourself with. Today we’ve chosen each other. I love you.”

Erend squeezed Aloy a little tighter against him. When she looked up to him he was watching her instead of them, eyes twinkling. They’d chosen each other as family too, and Aloy would never regret it. He shrugged his shoulders to lean in and plant a kiss on her forehead.

“As witnessed by the sun, I pronounce you husband and wife,” the Sun Priest declared. “You may kiss your bride.”

Brant tugged Anehita in enthusiastically, kissing her deeply as the audience applauded. The baby started to cry, startled by the commotion, and Aloy had to turn to hush her.

Overall though, it had been a perfect day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m such a sap about my Aloy and Erend and I’m not sorry. XD
> 
> We’ve got the trip to the Motherland coming and I’ve been dying to get to some of the events that are included in that arc for some time. 
> 
> Thanks for continuing to read. I <3 you all.


End file.
